Seasonal community structure of the molluscan macrofauna at the marine‐lagoonal environmental transition at Kalloni solar saltworks (Lesvos Island, NE Aegean Sea, Greece)

Abstract

Solar saltworks are extremely heterogeneous coastal aquatic ecosystems whose benthic biodiversity patterns have not been comprehensively investigated yet. The present study focuses on the seasonal community structure of the macrobenthic molluscs at the marine‐lagoonal environmental transition that takes place at Kalloni solar saltworks (Lesvos Island, NE Aegean Sea, Greece). The molluscan community was studied by means of four seasonal collections carried out in 2004 at four sites in the study area. The molluscan community was found to be considerably species‐rich and forming a coenocline, as marine species were gradually replaced by lagoonal species with increasing distance from the sea. The major variable in the implied environmental gradient structuring the molluscan community appeared to be confinement rather than salinity, although zonation of the molluscan community structure was rather broad. The pattern of spatial organization of the molluscan fauna did not appear to change seasonally, although seasonal shifts of the zones did occur in the study area.