Distribution of polychaete feeding guilds in sedimentary environments of the Campeche Bank, Southern Gulf of Mexico

The aim of this study was to analyze the trophic structure of the polychaete assemblages found in the Campeche Bank, southern Gulf of Mexico and to examine the effect of the sediment composition on the spatial distribution of the feeding guilds. In all, 2,662 organisms belonging to 160 species and 16 feeding guilds were identified. Filter-feeders (Fabricinuda trilobata and Bispira melanostigma) dominated. Five groups of stations were defined based on feeding guilds: one, in the southwest, characterized by motile jawed burrowers (17.14% contribution); the second, from the southeast to the northwest, characterized by seven guilds (45.25%), mainly filter-feeders and surface deposit-feeders; the third, in the southwest, characterized by three guilds (42.13%), mainly discretely motile tentaculate filter-feeders and motile unarmed burrowers; group four, in the east, was characterized by sessile tentaculate filter-feeders (63.68%); and group five, in the center and to the north, was characterized by four guilds (53.69%), mainly discretely motile tentaculate filter-feeders. The variety of feeding guilds was higher in the northwest with seven guilds, and the lowest variety was found in the east and south with only one or two guilds. Contrary to the starting hypothesis, the sediment composition was not the main factor that determined the distribution of the polychaete feeding guilds. Instead, salinity and depth were more important for the spatial arrangement of the trophic groups. The feeding guilds of polychaetes proved to be more sensitive to environmental changes than density or diversity.