Assessment of spatial patterns in benthic macrofauna of the U.S. west coast continental shelf.

ABSTRACT:

Aim

We assessed whether currently described marine biogeographic boundaries apply to shelf macrofauna and which environmental drivers were most associated with species differences among regions.

Location

Pacific coast of North America from the Strait of Juan de Fuca in Washington to the California-Mexico border.

Methods

Van Veen grab samples were collected from soft sediment 28-138 m deep and sieved using 1 mm mesh. Spatial patterns of species richness, diversity, and abundance were examined in relation to latitude and environmental parameters (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, sediment % fines, and total organic carbon). Analyses of latitudinal distribution patterns of individual species were combined with multivariate analyses of community composition to dete

SUBMITTER: Henkel SK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6463525 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature