Abstract
The southern king crab, Lithodes santolla, is an important fishery resource in the inner seas of Chilean Patagonia. The fishing gear used to catch southern king crab (bait trap) and its operation at different depths over several months provide the opportunity to gather information about relative abundance. The aim of the present study was to analyze the information collected from the catches of southern king crab and its associated fauna in the Magdalena Fjord to study the biodiversity and ecology of scavenging decapod crustaceans. Specifically, the study aimed to determine the bathymetric patterns of abundance by species, to model the abundance by season (winter and spring) and to determine the structuring pattern of scavenging decapods assemblage. Samples were collected between June and November 2019 by deploying traps in four bathymetric strata: 1 = 0–50 m; 2 = 51–100 m; 3 =101–150 m; 4 = 151–200 m. We registered a total of 673 decapod specimens associated with the southern king crab fishery, representing five species: Lithodes santolla (n = 96), Libidoclaea smithii (n = 10), Metacarcinus edwardsii (n = 58), Munida gregaria (n = 507) and Peltarion spinulosum (n = 2). The abundance of decapod species varied by month and bathymetric strata. We found bathymetric patterns for L. santolla abundance, M. gregaria, M. edwardsii, and total species abundance. The most informative model to explain scavenging decapod abundance by generalized linear model (GLM) included species and season. The null model of species co-occurrence analysis revealed that all species associations during the sampled months were random. Our study is the first that provides evidence about patterns of bathymetrical and temporal variation of scavenging decapod abundance and expands the body of knowledge regarding the biodiversity of scavenger decapods in the Magdalena Sound.
Highlights
There are few records of decapod fauna in Patagonian seas due to the geography, which is characterized by inner seas and islands that make the area difficult to access [1,2]
From a biogeographical point of view, the decapod fauna in Patagonian inner seas is characterized by species found in sub-Antarctic and southern Atlantic seas [1]
The aim of the present study was to analyze the information from the catches of southern king crab and its associated fauna in the Magdalena Fjord (44◦ S, Aysen region, southern Chile) to study the biodiversity and ecology of scavenging decapod crustaceans
Summary
There are few records of decapod fauna in Patagonian seas due to the geography, which is characterized by inner seas and islands that make the area difficult to access [1,2]. From a biogeographical point of view, the decapod fauna in Patagonian inner seas is characterized by species found in sub-Antarctic and southern Atlantic seas [1]. The studies on decapod fauna are based mainly on the species records of scientific expeditions [4,5,6,7,8,9] that provide a basis for integrated biogeographical studies [1,8,9]. Ecological studies are scarce due to the difficulty of accessing southern Chilean
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