INFLUENCE OF SPARTINA-ALTERNIFLORA ON STRUCTURE AND TEMPORAL VARIABILITY OF MACROBENTHIC ASSOCIATIONS IN A TIDAL FLAT OF PARANAGUA BAY (SOUTHEASTERN BRAZIL)

Structure and temporal variability of macrobenthic associations at vegetated and unvegetated sites of a Spartina alterniflora marsh were analyzed over a 14 mo period in the euhaline, high-energy sector of Paranagua Bay (southeastern Brazil). The vegetated site was characterized by significantly higher numbers of species, mean densities and faunal dominance. The presence of plant cover affects epifaunal grazers, such as the gastropods Neritina virginea, Littorina flava and the isopod Sphaeromopsis mourei, besides a number of infaunal dominants associated with the root-rhizome mat, such as the polychaetes Isolda pulchella and Nereis oligohalina. Seasonal patterns of change were evident at both sites, with higher macrofaunal densities coinciding seasonally with higher availability of plant litter and lower predation pressure. Macrobenthic populations were generally more persistent at the vegetated site, despite short-term or seasonal variations. At the unvegetated site, intense and unpredictable population shifts were exhibited by the numerical dominants Kalliapseudes schubarti and Corophium acherusicum. Differences in trophic organization were also evident, with a marked dominance of suspension-feeders at the unvegetated site. Our results suggest that (1) much of the spatial and temporal structure of macrobenthic associations in euhaline, high-energy flats of a subtropical estuary depends on the presence of plant cover, together with seasonal fluctuations in detrital input and predation pressure, and (2) knowledge of the interaction between plant cover and time is a prerequisite for useful data interpretation or hypotheses formulation in such environments.