<p class="ZootaxaTitle"><strong>Functional redundancy in polychaete assemblages from a tropical Large Marine Ecosystem (LME)</strong></p>

Abstract

Functional redundancy assumes a critical relevance nowadays due to the serious threats that affect marine life worldwide. We assessed and compared levels of functional redundancy in polychaete assemblages from the continental shelf and from estuarine environments along the South Brazil Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem (SBSLME). To quantify functional redundancy, we used functional originality (FOri) and functional uniqueness (FUni). We found 57 and 47 polychaete taxa distributed in 48 and 41 functional entities (i.e., a unique combination of trait values) in continental shelf and estuarine environments, respectively. Results suggest a low level of functional redundancy in both environments. However, FOri was higher in the estuarine environment, whereas FUni was higher in the continental shelf. As expected, estuarine polychaetes have fewer unique combinations of trait values, but these combinations are more original and adequate to the varying conditions imposed by estuarine environmental drivers.