ABSTRACT. Thalassia testudinum and Halodule wrigthii are the dominant seagrasses in the Caribbean, being common across shallow shorelines, either as monospecific or as intermixed meadows. Among the macrofauna associated with these beds, crustaceans are considered essential for the whole ecosystem functioning. However, knowledge about the associated community of decapod crustaceans in assemblages of T. testudinum and H. wrigthii is still scarce, particularly outside of protected areas. Here we report eight new decapod species for the Paraguaná Peninsula (Falcón State, Venezuela) Manning & Chace, 1971. These records represent habitat extensions and fill gaps in the geographical distribution of the species along the northern coast of South America. Furthermore, we found that statistical differences in decapod species abundance and composition are likely to be caused by the joint action of coverage and heterogeneity of the beds. Our results indicate that typical Caribbean species were the most influential in the community; nevertheless, the abundance of juvenile Penaeus schmitti Burkenroad, 1936 was notable, since they have rarely been found in these habitats. This finding highlights the role of non-protected areas as nursery habitats for economically important species. Our results show that seagrass meadows in the Paraguaná Peninsula reflect overall good health when compared to other Caribbean zones, representing an important habitat for the maintenance of crustacean populations.KEYWORDS. Caridean and penaeid shrimps, new records, Falcón state, Halodule, Thalassia.RESUMEN. Composición y abundancia de crustáceos decápodos en praderas mixtas de hierbas marinas en la península de Paraguaná, Venezuela. Thalassia testudinum y Halodule wrigthii son las hierbas marinas dominantes en el Caribe, siendo comunes en costas someras, tanto en monocultivos como en cultivos mixtos. Entre la macrofauna asociada a estas comunidades, los crustáceos son considerados esenciales para el funcionamiento del ecosistema. Sin embargo, el conocimiento sobre la comunidad de crustáceos decápodos asociada a praderas mixtas de T. testudinum y H. wrigthii es escaso, en particular fuera de zonas protegidas. En este trabajo presentamos ocho nuevas especies de decápodos para la Península de Paraguaná (estado Falcón, Venezuela) asociados a praderas mixtas de hierbas marinas: Achelous tumidulus Stimpson, 1871, Alpheus floridanus Kingsley, 1878, Chorinus heros (Herbst, 1790), Clibanarius antillensis (Stimpson, 1859), Clibanarius sclopetarius (Herbst, 1796), Latreutes parvulus (Stimpson, 1866), Panopeus occidentalis Saussure, 1857, y Processa fimbriata Manning & Chace, 1971. Estos registros representan extensiones de hábitat y completan brechas en la distribución geográfica de las especies a lo largo de la costa septentrional de Sudamérica. Diferencias estadísticas en la abundancia y composición de las especies de decápodos fueron posiblemente causadas por la acción conjunta de cobertura y heterogeneidad de las praderas. Las especies más influyentes e...
Aquatic macroinvertebrates and organic matter (OM) are transported downstream with the current, in a process that is modulated by different mechanisms in the ecosystem. Macroinvertebrate drift and OM transport are processes involving interactions between organisms and the environment at multiple spatial and temporal scales. The objective of this study was to describe benthic aquatic macroinvertebrate drift in one of the least disturbed streams of northern Venezuela during the dry season. Aquatic macroinvertebrate drift and OM transport were assessed on three different dates, sampling every three hours for each diel cycle using three drift nets. Aquatic macroinvertebrate drift exhibited a clear diel pattern, showing higher drift density values at night than those found during daylight, with significant differences among sampling times (two-way ANOVA, F 7,48 = 33.51, p < 0.001) but not among months (F 2,48 = 2.012, p > 0.05) with no interaction between factors (F 14,48 = 1.152, p > 0.05). All sampling dates showed the same trend for diel aquatic macroinvertebrate drift patterns with mean values ranging from 0.19 to 14.81 org.m-3. Transported OM showed no significant differences for the interaction between factors (sampling time*month) (F 14,48 = 0.727, p > 0.05) or among sampling times (two-way ANOVA, F 7,48 = 1.25, p > 0.05) and months (F 2,48 = 0.049, p > 0.05) with values ranging from 79.28 to 207.49 mg.m −3. The San Miguel stream showed a definite diel trend for aquatic macroinvertebrate drift with a peak at 20:00 h dominated by larval shrimp. Our results indicate that drift samples taken at different times along a diel cycle should be considered in bioassessment studies as an important part of any biodiversity survey. This study contributes to comprehend the importance of the integrity of the freshwater-estuarine-marine corridor for the conservation of aquatic fauna and management in tropical coastal streams. RESUMEN
Alpheus platycheirus Boone, 1927 (Decapoda, Alpheidae) is a snapping shrimp widely distributed in the western Atlantic, from the Gulf of Mexico to eastern Brazil. This shrimp usually inhabits muddy marine bottoms; however, here we record for the first time A. platycheirus in association with Thalassia testudinum and Halodule wrightii meadows at an unusually shallow depth in northwest Venezuela. This record extends the known habitat and distribution of A. platycheirus in the Caribbean. Moreover, it represents an additional alpheid species for Venezuela, bringing the known total to 34 species.
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