The effect of sieve mesh size on the abundance and composition of macrophyte-associated macrofaunal assemblages |
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Authors: | Tanaka Marcel Okamoto Leite Fosca Pedini Pereira |
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Affiliation: | 1.Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, CP 6109, CEP 13083-970, Campinas, SP, Brazil E-mail ;2.Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, CP 6109, CEP 13083-970, Campinas, SP, Brazil (*author for correspondence) ; |
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Abstract: | Sampling efficiency of several sieve mesh sizes (2, 1, 0.5, 0.2 and 0.1 mm) was tested in invertebrate assemblages associated to Sargassum stenophyllum. Samples of this brown algae were collected in southeastern Brazil to determine whether different sampling devices resulted in differences on the abundance and composition of the macrofauna. The 1 and 2 mm mesh sizes sampled less organisms, resulting in smaller abundances, densities, number of species and diversity, when compared to the other three mesh sizes, that achieved similar results. The most efficient sieve was the 0.5 mm mesh, sampling 85.8% and 94.5% of gammaridean and caprellidean amphipods, respectively, and 93.1% of gastropods. However, polychaetes and isopods were best sampled with the 0.2 mm sieve. Our results suggest that caution should be exercised when deciding on which sieve to use, as mesh sizes commonly used in benthic studies (1 and 0.5 mm) may result in very different estimates of diversity and abundance, as well as community structure patterns. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. |
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Keywords: | epifauna macrofauna Sargassum sampling |
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