Premium
Spatial and Temporal Patterns in Structure of Macrobenthic Assemblages. A Three‐Year Study in the Northern Adriatic Sea in Front of the Po River Delta
Author(s) -
Ambrogi R.,
Bedulli D.,
Zurijni G.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
marine ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.668
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1439-0485
pISSN - 0173-9565
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-0485.1990.tb00226.x
Subject(s) - benthic zone , benthos , abundance (ecology) , community structure , ecology , oceanography , sampling (signal processing) , front (military) , seasonality , spatial ecology , geography , environmental science , geology , biology , filter (signal processing) , computer science , computer vision
. Coastal benthic communities in soft‐bottom deposits of a restricted area were studied by seasonal sampling at nine stations. Faunal assemblages at three different depths were consistently different and exhibited a seasonal pattern of abundance and diversity. Multivariate statistical analyses suggest that each community structure is very similar during the three summer samplings; in autumn and winter many causes of disturbance can disrupt this structure, which is reconstituted the following summer. The stability of benthic communities in this physically variable environment is discussed and a “cyclic” adjustment mechanism of stability is proposed to explain the dynamics of the benthos in this area.