Abstract
Ecosystem engineering species create, modify, and/or maintain the characteristics of the environment. The polychaete Phragmatopoma caudata builds large sand reefs in the intertidal region of the Brazilian coast with high structural complexity, favoring the increase of diversity and interactions among the species associated. However, there are no studies concerning the association of polychaetes with crustacean macrofauna in the northeastern Brazil ecoregion, leaving an information gap on baseline biodiversity. Our aim was to analyze the effect of P. caudata colonies (PC) on the local diversity of macrocrustaceans compared to the rocky shore (RS) microhabitat. Monthly collections were carried out in low tide from September 2015 to August 2016 on 10 × 10 m quadrants for fauna and environmental variables (temperature and salinity) samples. In each microhabitat, the capture effort was two hours by two researchers. We collected 3,390 individuals, 60% associated with the colonies of PC and 40% with the RS. The PC obtained higher Shannon diversity, Pielou evenness and species richness coupled with milder water temperature and salinity conditions (minor air exposure during tide), compared to the RS that obtained greater species dominance and more extreme abiotic conditions (major air exposure). The Porcellanidae family stood out because all its species were highly abundant and had high occurrence in the colonies. The tropical Brazil porcelain crab Pachycheles greeleyi was dominant in both microhabitats (major dominance in PC). The structural complexity in the reefs of PC promoted higher availability of niches for the species, as more shelter for the resident species and refugium for temporary species with preference for more complex microhabitats. Conservation managers should prioritize the health of these colonies and subsequent species that constitute important ecosystemic and fishery resources.
Highlights
An ecosystem engineer is a species capable to create, modify and maintain the characteristics of the environment and have a direct or indirect impact on the physical structure, resources, complexity, and heterogeneity of environments (Jones et al, 1994; Santos & Aviz, 2019)
All species collected in the rocky shore (RS) were recorded in P. caudata colonies (PC); the PC had 6 families composed of 16 species that only occured in this microhabitat
Macrocrustaceans associated with P. caudata (PC) colonies in rocky intertidal areas are known from Caribbean to Southeast Brazil
Summary
An ecosystem engineer is a species capable to create, modify and maintain the characteristics of the environment and have a direct or indirect impact on the physical structure, resources, complexity, and heterogeneity of environments (Jones et al, 1994; Santos & Aviz, 2019). The Brazilian coastline often consists of rocky shores with highly dynamic characteristics that permanently or temporarily harbor a wide range of organisms (Abele, 1974) including colonies of P. caudata This polychaete worm builds sandstone galleries by adding large amounts of individual sediment particles that are cemented with a mucoprotein secretion (Zhao et al, 2005) creating large sand reefs (Main & Nelson, 1988; FaroniPerez, 2014). This organism creates a biogenic microhabitat of high structural complexity that favors the increase in local
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