Macroinfaunal Communities on mud Volcanoes in the Gulf of Cádiz (NE Atlantic): Preliminary Results

This study was carried out from a series of samples obtained from the diapiric mud volcano system of the Guadalquivir River (Gulf of Cádiz) during the ARSA 0307 campaign. Five stations were sampled over depths ranging between 490 and 717 m. The main objective of this study is to provide a preliminary description of the infaunal communities living in these environments, reaching the taxonomic rank of family. As a result of this study we conclude that the polychaetes were the most abundant faunistic group in all stations sampled, accounting for more than 50 % of the total infaunal abundance. Following in abundance were crustaceans, dominated by amphipods and the group called “others.” Molluscs and echinoderms are the infauna with the lowest abundance values. After a multivariate analysis, no defined groupings were found between the different stations.