Spatial relationships between polychaete assemblages and environmental variables over broad geographical scales.

ABSTRACT: This study examined spatial relationships between rocky shore polychaete assemblages and environmental variables over broad geographical scales, using a database compiled within the Census of Marine Life NaGISA (Natural Geography In Shore Areas) research program. The database consisted of abundance measures of polychaetes classified at the genus and family levels for 74 and 93 sites, respectively, from nine geographic regions. We tested the general hypothesis that the set of environmental variables emerging as potentially important drivers of variation in polychaete assemblages depend on the spatial scale considered. Through Moran's eigenvector maps we indentified three submodels reflecting spatial relationships among sampling sites at intercontinental (>10,000 km), continental (1000-5000

SUBMITTER: Benedetti-Cecchi L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2944868 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature