African Journal of
Plant Science

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Plant Sci.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1996-0824
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJPS
  • Start Year: 2007
  • Published Articles: 809

Full Length Research Paper

Spatiotemporal variations of Tricolia affinis (C.B. Adams, 1850) associated with the macroalgal community on reef stretches at Piedade beach, southern coast of Pernambuco State, Brazil

Mariana Alves de Guimaraens*
  • Mariana Alves de Guimaraens*
  • Universidade de Pernambuco, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Disciplina Biologia, Rua Arnóbio Marques, 310, 50100-130, Recife, Brazil.
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Maria de Fatima Oliveira-Carvalho
  • Maria de Fatima Oliveira-Carvalho
  • Programa de Pós-Graduação em Botânica, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Av. D. Manoel de Medeiros, s/n., 52171-900, Recife, PE, Brazil.
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Ranilson Emmanuel de Aquino
  • Ranilson Emmanuel de Aquino
  • Universidade de Pernambuco, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Disciplina Biologia, Rua Arnóbio Marques, 310, 50100-130, Recife, Brazil.
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  •  Received: 29 January 2015
  •  Accepted: 03 March 2015
  •  Published: 31 March 2015

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to assess the correlation between the spatiotemporal variation of the gastropod Tricolia affinis and the macroalgal community on the sandstone reef at Piedade beach on the southern coast of Pernambuco State (PE) during the rainy and dry seasons in 2009 and 2010. Five square plots were randomly sampled on each date on the reef flat and pool to sample the gastropod population and measure the biomass of the dominant algae. Abiotic parameters were measured near the sampling sites. Three macroalgal genera, the Rhodophyta Gracilaria and Hypnea and Chlorophyta Bryopsis, showed representative biomasses at the sampling sites and were found throughout the sampling period. The abundance of T. affinis on the reef flat was significantly lower during the rainy season; however, no significant difference in this gastropod’s abundance was found between the reef and tide pool. The density of T. affinis was significantly correlated with the biomass of Gracilaria, which showed the highest biomass and structural complexity in the studied area.

 

Key words: Sandstone reefs, benthic algae, Gracilaria, mollusca, seasonality.

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This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0

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