Environmental and ecological factors mediate taxonomic composition and body size of polyplacophoran assemblages along the Peruvian Province.

ABSTRACT: Intertidal communities' composition and diversity usually exhibit strong changes in relation to environmental gradients at different biogeographical scales. This study represents the first comprehensive diversity and composition description of polyplacophoran assemblages along the Peruvian Province (SE Pacific, 12°S-39°S), as a model system for ecological latitudinal gradients. A total of 4,775 chitons from 21 species were collected on twelve localities along the Peruvian Province. This sampling allowed us to quantitatively estimate the relative abundance of the species in this assemblage, and to test whether chitons conform to elementary predictions of major biogeographic patterns such as a latitudinal diversity gradient. We found that the species composition supported the division of the

SUBMITTER: Ibanez CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6828727 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature