Seasonal dynamics of meroplankton in a sub-Antarctic fjord (Southern Patagonia, Chile).

ABSTRACT: Knowledge of seasonal dynamics and composition of meroplankton (larvae of benthic invertebrates) is rather limited for sub-Antarctic regions. We studied the seasonal dynamics of meroplankton in a sub-Antarctic proglacial basin (Gallegos Sound, Chile), by examining changes in the meroplankton community in relation to hydrographic variables along four sampling cruises between early winter 2010 and late winter 2011. The local meroplankton community was composed of 39 larval morphotypes distributed among 11 major taxa, being polychaetes the best represented (15 larvae morphotypes), and bivalve the most abundant. We found distinct seasonal differences in terms of meroplanktonic composition and abundance, with higher abundance and larval morphotype number during austral spring and late winter, a

SUBMITTER: Pineda-Metz SEA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8008332 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature