Global diversity patterns in sandy beach macrofauna: a biogeographic analysis.

ABSTRACT: Unlike the advances generated on land, the knowledge of global diversity patterns in marine ecosystems is limited to a small number of studies. For sandy beaches, which dominate the world's ocean shores, previous meta-analyses highlighted the role of beach morphodynamics in explaining species richness patterns. Oceanographic variables and historical processes have not been considered, even though they could be main predictors of community structure. Our work, based on 256 sandy beaches around the world, analysed species richness considering for the first time temperature, salinity and primary productivity. Biogeographic units (realms, provinces and ecoregions) were used to incorporate historical factors in modelling processes. Ecoregions, which implicitly include isolation and coastal comp

SUBMITTER: Barboza FR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4585946 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature