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Community structure of bathyal decapod crustaceans off South-Eastern Sardinian deep-waters (Central-Western Mediterranean)
Follesa, M.C.; Porcu, C.; Gastoni, A.; Mulas, A.; Sabatini, A.; Cau, A. (2009). Community structure of bathyal decapod crustaceans off South-Eastern Sardinian deep-waters (Central-Western Mediterranean). Mar. Ecol. (Berl.) 30(s1): 188-199. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0485.2009.00323.x
In: Marine Ecology (Berlin). Blackwell: Berlin. ISSN 0173-9565; e-ISSN 1439-0485, more
Also appears in:
(2009). Proceedings of the 43rd European Marine Biology Symposium, The Azores Islands (Portugal), 8-12 September 2008. European Marine Biology Symposia, 43. Marine Ecology (Berlin), 30(Suppl. 1). 202 pp., more
Peer reviewed article  
Available in  Authors 
Keywords
    Decapoda [WoRMS]
    Marine/Coastal
Author keywords
    Deep-sea; decapod crustaceans; faunal zonation; Sardinian deep-waters; Mediterranean
Authors  Top 
  • Follesa, M.C.
  • Porcu, C.
  • Gastoni, A.
  • Mulas, A.
  • Sabatini, A.
  • Cau, A.
Abstract
    Community structure and faunal composition of bathyal decapod crustaceans off South-Eastern Sardinian deep-waters (Central-Western Mediterranean) were investigated. Samples were collected during 32 hauls between 793 and 1598 m in depth over the 2003–2007 period. A total of 1900 decapod specimens belonging to 23 species were collected. Multivariate analysis revealed the occurrence of three faunistic assemblages related to depth: (i) an upper slope community at depths of 793–1002 m; (ii) a middle slope community at depths of 1007–1212 m and (iii) a lower slope community at depths greater 1420 m. In the upper and middle slopes the benthic (Polycheles typhlops) and epibenthic–endobenthic feeders (mainly Aristeus antennatus and Geryon longipes), which eat infaunal prey, were dominant, followed by the macroplankton–epibenthic feeders such as Acanthephyra eximia and Plesionika acanthonotus. In the deepest stratum, the most remarkable feature was the prevalence of macroplankton–epibenthic feeders (A. eximia and P. acanthonotus). A small percentage of the benthic deep-sea lobster Polycheles sculptus was also present. The biomass presented higher values in the middle slope and declined strongly in the lower slope. There was no general pattern of mean individual weight/size versus depth among decapods, and the changes seemed to be species-specific with different trends.
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