Bivalve mollusk assemblages on São Paulo's northern continental shelf, southeast Brazil
Soft bottom bivalve mollusc assemblages were sampled along a depth gradient (10 to 100 m) on the northern São Paulo shelf during the austral summer and winter. A one-way analysis of similarity permutation test revealed there was no seasonal difference in the structure of the bivalve assemblages in the area. A clustering analysis indicated 3 groups of stations corresponding to the bathymetric gradient. Both K-dominance curves and Shannon and Pielou indexes showed higher biological diversity and higher evenness for the shallower area. Most of the bivalves found were classified as suspension-feeders, co-occurring with deposit-feeder species, suggesting an absence of negative interactions between these trophic groups. Differences in the frequency of disturbance along the depth gradient caused by wave storms - more common in winter - and also by predation and anthropogenic activities, such as dredging of fishing boats and input of gross sewage, likely explain the higher diversity found on the inner shelf of Ubatuba.
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Digital revista |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Instituto Internacional de Ecologia
2005
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| Online Access: | http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1519-69842005000400019 |
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