“Egagrópilas” de Valonia: una comunidad compleja en un ecosistema lagunar

Abstract

Coastal lagoons are environments that are expected to be simple and homogeneous. However, by the contrary, they show a high habitat heterogeneity and develop complex and well-structured communities. An example is the biocoenosis constituted by the biogenic species Valonia aegagropila C. Agardh which conforms balls or "pellets" colonized by a high number of algae and invertebrate species, constituting a biocoenosis with a high species richness, structural and functional diversity. In this work, it is described, by first time, this community, that probably play an important role in maintaining, through a top-down control from the benthic system, the water quality and trophic status of the Charco de San Ginés lagoon.