THE INFLUENCE OF TIDAL AND RAINFALL CYCLES ON INTERTIDAL NEMATODES: A CASE STUDY IN A TROPICAL SANDY BEACH

The present study describes the nematode assemblage of the bay of Tamandaré (Brazil), a tropical sandy beach, during the low, flood, high and ebb tides of two consecutive tidal cycles in four different months of the year (May, July, September and November). The nematode assemblage was dominated by M...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Virag Venekey, Paulo Jorge Parreira dos Santos, Verônica Gomes da Fonsêca-Genevois
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidade de São Paulo 2014-12-01
Series:Brazilian Journal of Oceanography
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1679-87592014000400247&lng=en&tlng=en
Description
Summary:The present study describes the nematode assemblage of the bay of Tamandaré (Brazil), a tropical sandy beach, during the low, flood, high and ebb tides of two consecutive tidal cycles in four different months of the year (May, July, September and November). The nematode assemblage was dominated by Metachromadora and Perepsilonema and varied significantly between months and tides. Densities were lower in July, and changes in assemblage structure occurred during the transitional periods between rainy and dry months, which showed the influence of rainfall. Flood and ebb tides appeared to exercise the greatest influences over the tidal cycle, although the patterns were not very clear. Identification at genera/species level is recommended for future studies, to better understand the patterns of nematode assemblages during tidal cycles.
ISSN:1982-436X