Geographic variation in the macrofaunal associates of pelagic Sargassum and some biogeographic implications

Abstract

See, stats, and : https : / / www . researchgate . net / publication / 250214060 Geographic associates biogeographic Article DOI : 10 . 3354 / meps020185 CITATIONS 39 READS 237 2 : Allan Community (non - profit 151 , 314 SEE Holly Tampa 37 SEE All - text , letting . Available : Allan Retrieved : 09 ABSTRACT : The macrofauna associated with individually collected clumps of pelagic Sargassurn was influenced strongly by the location of sampling . Algae collected in the Sargasso Sea carried more species with lower dominance and higher evenness and variation in abundance than algae collected in the Gulf Stream . Gulf Stream samples were dominated by the shrimp Latreutes fucorum (67 . 8 %) with little compositional variation whereas the gastropod Litiopa melanostoma was the most abundant but weakly dominant species (25 . 1 %) in the Sargasso Sea . Generally , species endemic to pelagic Sargas - sum species were most abundant in the Sargasso Sea while numerous temporary associates were found in the Gulf Stream . Numbers of individuals and species increased with the weight of algal clumps but clump size had little effect on the species composition of algal associates . Variation in species composition and trophic organization of macrofaunal associates with geographic region and with algal age were related to differences in the epiphytization of the algae . Because of the dissimilarity in algal associates of the Gulf Stream and Sargasso Sea , the influx of littoral fauna from the West Indies to the Sargasso Sea is probably very slow and the present forms may have evolved in that water mass .