Ecology of Syllidae (Annelida: Polychaeta) from shallow rocky environments in the Cantabrian Sea (South Bay of Biscay)

Ecology and diversity of Mediterranean hard-bottom Syllidae (Annelida): a community-level approach

“…I tested the hypothesis that syllid distribution related significantly to the abundance of dominant, habitat-forming macrobenthic species, such as the articulated coralline alga Amphiroa sp., which was dominant at 1.5 m depth. Unexpectedly, I found no significant relationship between this alga and syllid distribution, in contrast to observations elsewhere (Abbiati et al 1987, Serrano et al 2006. Geography and habitat dissimilarity might be at the base of the differences between the present study and that of Serrano et al (2006), who concluded that variation in abundance of habitat-forming taxa is one of the most important factors influencing the distribution of Syllidae along the Atlantic Iberian coast.…”

“…Unexpectedly, I found no significant relationship between this alga and syllid distribution, in contrast to observations elsewhere (Abbiati et al 1987, Serrano et al 2006. Geography and habitat dissimilarity might be at the base of the differences between the present study and that of Serrano et al (2006), who concluded that variation in abundance of habitat-forming taxa is one of the most important factors influencing the distribution of Syllidae along the Atlantic Iberian coast. However, my results are in agreement to those reported by Fraschetti et al (2002), who found large spatial variation in polychaete assemblages associated with Cysto seira amentacea at 1.5 m depth (50% of which were Syllidae), despite the apparent homogeneity of the algal substratum.…”

“…These small to medium-sized vagile worms are quite common in shallow subtidal algal communities and seagrass meadows (San Martín 2003). Structurally complex coralline algae area suitable habitat for the Syllidae (Tena et al 2000, Serrano et al 2006. Syllid species composition, however, appears almost unrelated to algal cover, suggesting the absence of habitat-specific associations (Giangrande et al 2003).…”

“…In the direct effect, reproductive biology is thought to to play a major role, with physically stressed shallow-water communities pre ferentially hosting syllid species that reproduce continuously. However, little is known about syllid bio logy and even less is known about the interspecific interactions that might be of key importance in structuring syllid assemblages (Çinar & Gönlügür-Demirci 2005, Serrano et al 2006, Musco et al 2009). For example, predation is thought to structure some syllid assemblages in seagrass meadows by limiting species dominance and enhancing diversity (Gambi et al 1995).…”

Diversity, distribution and ecology of the family Syllidae (Annelida) in the Portuguese coast (Western Iberian Peninsula)

“…The complexity of the internal channeling system of the S. polyschides holdfast may offer larger and more protective areas for this fauna (McKenzie and Moore 1981) than the sediment interstitial spaces. Several studies also suggest that hard substrates are more important for Syllids than soft substrates (e.g., Antoniadou et al 2004;Liñero-Arana and Díaz 2011;Serrano et al 2006). Faulwetter et al (2011) recorded only 23 species in soft-bottom samples (in Israel) when compared to the 62 species found in several hard substrates (e.g., filamentous Phaeophyceae and Chlorophyceae, Jania sp., Cystoseira sp.…”