| Abstract: | The macrobenthic infauna of the Gulf of Arauco (Central Chile), was quantitatively sampled in April 1979. A total of 81 species were identified. The infauna was greatly dominated by polychaetes. The polychaete Paraprionospio pinnata and the amphipod Ampelisca araucana accounted for ca. 45 per cent of the total infauna in terms of numbers. Numerical classification produced four site-groups and four species-groups, mostly reflecting differences in character and depth of sediment. Several community characteristics differed for these assemblages. Biomass also was dominated by polychaetes, with Pectinaria chilensis, P. pinnata, Diopatra chiliensis and Glycera americana making up 45 per cent of the total. The high numbers of the fauna (mean = 15,021 ind m−2) and especially the high biomass figures (mean = 21.04 g AFDW m−2) reported are consistent with the high productivity of the area, subject to coastal upwelling processes. |
