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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Patterns of sandy-beach macrofauna production

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Author(s):
Petracco, Marcelo [1] ; Cardoso, Ricardo Silva [2] ; Turra, Alexander [1]
Total Authors: 3
Affiliation:
[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Oceanog, Dept Oceanog Biol, BR-05508120 Sao Paulo - Brazil
[2] Univ Fed Estado Rio de Janeiro UNIRIO, Inst Biociencias, Dept Ecol & Recursos Marinhos, BR-22290240 Rio De Janeiro, RJ - Brazil
Total Affiliations: 2
Document type: Journal article
Source: Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom; v. 93, n. 7, p. 1717-1725, NOV 2013.
Web of Science Citations: 11
Abstract

Using data available from the literature, patterns of biomass, production and productivity of sandy-beach macrofauna populations were examined, considering environmental (temperature, exposure, grain size and beach slope) and biological variables (life span and mean body mass) and feeding and taxonomic groups. A total of 102 estimates of both production and biomass and 105 estimates of P/B ratios were collected from 52 studies carried out between 42 degrees 46'S and 54 degrees 05'N, for 83 sandy-beach macrofauna populations. The negative relationship between P/B ratio and beach slope for the supralittoral amphipods agrees with the Habitat Safety Hypothesis, according to which these forms would show higher mortality in dissipative than in reflective beaches. The observed higher production of filter-feeders in exposed than in sheltered beaches suggests that more food is available for filter-feeders in exposed beaches. The higher production of filter-feeders (represented by bivalves and decapods), than of scavengers/predators (peracarids and gastropods) showed the importance of filter-feeders in the food web of sandy beaches. The P/B ratios were strongly related to life span, but weakly or not related to the mean body mass. The high amphipod P/B ratio was attributed to the short life span of these crustaceans; conversely, gastropods showed the lowest P/B ratio, in accordance with their longer life span. The observed differences in biomass, production and P/B ratios within crustaceans and molluscs were attributed to differences in life-history traits and feeding mode. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 08/11053-0 - Secondary production of benthonic macrofauna in sandy beaches: a case study with Olivella minuta (Link, 1807) (Mollusca, Gastropoda) and methodological analysis and validation
Grantee:Marcelo Petracco
Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral