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| Titel |
The snails' tale in deep-sea habitats in the Gulf of Cadiz (NE Atlantic) |
| VerfasserIn |
L. Génio, A. Warén, F. L. Matos, M. R. Cunha |
| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| ISSN |
1726-4170
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| Digitales Dokument |
URL |
| Erschienen |
In: Biogeosciences ; 10, no. 7 ; Nr. 10, no. 7 (2013-07-30), S.5159-5170 |
| Datensatznummer |
250018368
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 copernicus.org/bg-10-5159-2013.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
| Bridging the Atlantic and Mediterranean continental margins, the South
Iberian region has recently been the focus for geological and biological
investigations. In this region, the Gulf of Cadiz (GoC) encompasses a great
variety of deep-sea habitats that harbour highly diverse biological
communities. In this study, we describe the composition of gastropod
assemblages obtained from in situ colonization experiments and benthic
sampling of deep-sea habitats in the GoC. Gastropod distributional patterns,
such as bathymetric ranges, bathymetric turnover, affinity to substrate types
and abundance-occupancy relationships, are analysed and interpreted in
relation to their inferred dispersal capabilities and substrate availability.
Overall, the GoC comprises a high diversity of gastropods (65 species), and
distinct assemblages were found in typical sedimentary environments at mud
volcanoes and in association with carbonate and coral samples or organic
substrata. The number of taxa peaked at the Carbonate Province in the middle
slope (600–1200 m depth), a highly heterogeneous area with numerous mud
volcanoes, carbonate mounds and corals. Darwin (1100 m) and Captain
Arutyunov (1300 m) mud volcanoes harboured the most species-rich and
abundant gastropod assemblages, respectively. Colonization experiments with
organic substrata (wood and alfalfa grass) also yielded diverse and abundant
gastropod assemblages. These organic inputs allowed the recruitment of local
species but mainly of wood specialist taxa that were not previously known
from the GoC. Our results suggest that the distribution of gastropod
assemblages may be primarily determined by the occurrence of suitable
habitats, probably due to the effect of the substrate type on the structural
complexity of the habitat and availability and diversity of adequate food
sources. The type of larval development is apparently not a limiting factor
for colonization of deep-sea habitats. However, the predominance of
non-planktotrophy, and especially lecithotrophy, suggests that a trade-off
between more limited dispersal capability and higher potential for
self-recruitment may be a recurrent pattern in gastropod species inhabiting
reducing environments and other patchily distributed deep-sea habitats. A
network of suitable habitats that ensures effective population connectivity
would explain the predominance and relatively wide distribution of
short-distance dispersing non-planktotrophic species in the GoC deep-sea
habitats and other geographical regions. |
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