Resumen

THATJE, Sven  y  BROWN, Alastair. THE MACROBENTHIC ECOLOGY OF THE STRAITS OF MAGELLAN AND THE BEAGLE CHANNEL. Anales Instituto Patagonia (Chile) [online]. 2009, vol.37, n.2, pp. 17-27. ISSN 0718-686X.  doi: 10.4067/S0718-686X2009000200002.

The macrobenthic community of the Straits of Magellan and the Beagle Channel was investigated using a Reineck box corer at 22 stations during the Chilean "Cimar Fiordo 3" expedition in 1997. A total of 173 taxa represented by 2188 individuals were identified and are reported for the investigated area. Clear exponential relationships with depth were revealed by analysis of abundance, biomass, spe-cies richness, and evenness. These patterns coincide with posited theories of pelagic-benthic coupling and the source-sink hypothesis of colonisation-extinction dynamics. Polychaeta dominated macrobenthic community abundance and biomass, 67% and 38% respectively, therefore consideration of biogeographic affinities concentrated on this taxon. 13 species of polychaetes observed in the study area co-occur in Antarctica suggesting biogeographic or evolutionary affinities between these adjacent regions.

Palabras clave : biogeography; diversity; polychaete; Antarctica; Subantarctic.