Abstract

SEPULVEDA, Roger D.; MORENO, Rodrigo A.  and  CARRASCO, Franklin D.. MACROINVERTEBRATE DIVERSITY ASSOCIATED TO REEFS OF PHRAGMATOPOMA MOERCHI KINBERG, 1867 (POLYCHAETA: SABELLARIIDAE) IN THE INTERTIDAL ROCKY SHORE AT COCHOLGÜE, CHILE. Gayana (Concepc.) [online]. 2003, vol.67, n.1, pp. 45-54. ISSN 0717-6538.  doi: 10.4067/S0717-65382003000100007.

Single species aggregations are common in the rocky intertidal shore. One of such gregarious species is the tubicolous polychaete Phragmatopoma moerchi, which builds reefs of variable size on the rocky intertidal. These reefs provide refuge and food to many invertebrate species. The aim of this work is to characterize the macrofauna associated to these reefs and to determine the possible relationship between reef size (RS) and parameters of the associated community. Nine samples were taken from the intertidal at Cocholgüe (36° 35'S), between October and December, 2001. In the laboratory the samples were weighted, and the associated fauna was classified by taxa, and when possible, identified to species level. RS was then related with the following community descriptors: total number of individuals, species richness, diversity, dominance and evenness. Were found a total of 487 specimens of 43 taxa belonging to nine major groups. The taxa with more species present were Mollusca and Polychaeta (17 and 10, respectively). Direct and significant relationships were found between RS and some the community descriptors; diversity values were high but not significantly correlated with RS. The results of the present study demonstrate that these reefs shelter a dense and diverse invertebrate fauna, and therefore they are likely important for maintaining local biodiversity

Keywords : Rocky intertidal; macrofauna; biodiversity; Polychaeta; Phragmatopoma moerchi; reefs.