The distribution of littoral caprellids (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Caprellidea) along the Pacific coast of continental Chile

Abstract

Many littoral caprellid species have a very ample distribution, some having been reported from all over the world. The cosmopolitan distribution of many littoral caprellid species might be facilitated by the fact that they are often associated with fouling communities on floating objects, which have a high potential of far-range dispersal. This dispersal potential may also have implications for the distribution of caprellids on local and regional scales. Herein we examined the distribution of littoral caprellid species on two spatial scales, local (tens of kilometers) and regional (hundreds of kilometers) along the Pacific coast of continental Chile. On the local scale, we studied the caprellid fauna in different habitats (intertidal boulders, subtidal algal and seagrass beds, fouling community on buoys and ropes); on the regional scale we focused only on caprellids associated with the fouling community on buoys and ropes. We found a total of six caprellid species, some of which were very abundant both on the local as well as on the regional scale. On the local scale we found a difference between the three studied habitat types with respect to the assemblage of caprellid species, some of which were found in more than one habitat. The highest species richness and abundance of caprellids was found in the fouling community associated with anchored buoys and ropes. On the regional scale we found very high numbers of caprellids in the fouling community of the northern region (n of 30° S), and decreasing abundances and species richness in the central region (30-37° S). No caprellids were found in the southern region of the study area (37-42° S). This pattern coincides with the global distribution of littoral caprellid species, which are most abundant and diverse at low latitudes but occur in low abundances and low diversity at high latitudes. Detached buoys that were found a few km off the coast harbored similar caprellid assemblages (including ovigerous females) as anchored buoys, suggesting that buoys and other floating substrata (litter, macroalgae) may facilitate dispersal of caprellids (and other epibiota) along the Pacific coast of Chile. Since artificial and natural floating substrata are also abundant at high latitudes it is inferred that the low diversity of littoral caprellids at high latitudes is not due to lack of dispersal vectors, but rather of other factors.Key words: Crustacea, Amphipoda, Caprellidea, Chile, biogeography. RESUMENMuchas especies de caprélidos del litoral presentan una amplia distribución, algunas han sido citadas a lo largo de todo el mundo. La distribución cosmopolita de muchas especies de caprélidos podría deberse al hecho de que se asocian frecuentemente a las comunidades "fouling" en objetos flotantes, que presentan una capacidad importante de dispersión a largas distancias. Esta capacidad de dispersión puede tener implicaciones en la distribución de caprélidos a escala local y regional. En este estudio, nosotros examinamos la distribución de las especies de caprélidos litor...

Long-distance dispersal, low connectivity and molecular evidence of a new cryptic species in the obligate rafter Caprella andreae Mayer, 1890 (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Caprellidae)

“…They have been reported from a wide variety of floating substrata, from macroalgae to artificial floating items such as buoys Thiel and Gutow 2005b). Upon being detached, these substrata may be easily distributed over distances on the local (tens of km) and regional (hundreds of km) scale (Jara and Jaramillo 1979;Thiel et al 2003;Thiel and Gutow 2005b). Indeed, Takeuchi and Sawamoto (1998) reported many caprellids from plankton samples in the western North Pacific, and they suggested that at least some of these could have reached the offshore waters clinging to floating items.…”

“…Many marine vertebrates such as whales, manatees, and sea turtles also provide a suitable substratum for the attachment of these epibionts (Caine 1986;Pfaller et al 2008;Suárez-Morales et al 2010), with some individuals supporting abundant and diverse epibiont communities. Furthermore, marine invertebrates and, in particular, crustacean species are able to disperse large distances as a part of the fouling communities of ships and boats (Cohen and Carlton 1998;Galil et al 2002;Thiel et al 2003).…”

Diversidad regional de Amphipoda en el Mar Caribe

“…Caprellidea are a much less diverse taxon with 451 species worldwide and 25 species (4.72%) within 12 genera in the Caribbean (Table 1 (Thiel, Guerra-García, Lancellotti & Vásquez, 2003). For example, 105 species have been reported for Japan (Takeuchi, 1999) and 41 species for the Mediterranean (Guerra-García & Takeuchi, 2002;Sturaro & Guerra-García, 2012).…”

Chave de identificação para caprelídeos (Crustacea, Amphipoda) do litoral dos Estados do Paraná e de Santa Catarina

“…Os caprelídeos são importantes representantes dessa fauna epibionte e se fixam no substrato envolvendo seus últimos pares de pereópodos nos ramos de algas, briozoários e hidrozoários (Thiel et al 2003).…”

“…As espécies de caprelídeos são distribuídas mundialmente e várias delas são consideradas cosmopolitas; este fato provavelmente se deve às associações dos caprelídeos com substratos que apresentam alto potencial de flutuação, já que estes animais não apresentam estágio larval planctônico (fêmeas mantém os ovos em marsúpios, onde ocorre o desenvolvimento), e os adultos têm baixa capacidade de natação (McCain 1968, Thiel et al 2003 Os caprelídeos desempenham um importante papel nas cadeias tróficas nos ecossistemas marinhos como produtores secundários e terciários (Guerra-García 2004), atuando tanto como consumidores, como servindo de presas (Dauby et al 2003). Participam fundamentalmente na dieta de muitos peixes (Caine 1987, 1989, 1991, Dubiaski-Silva & Masunari 2008, de alguns moluscos cefalópodos nos primeiros estágios de vida (Pinczon du Sel et al 2000) e de braquiúros (Dubiaski-Silva & Masunari 2008).…”