Ecological characteristics of a population of Fabricia sabella (Ehrenberg) (Polychaeta Sabellidae) in the "trottoirs" of Lithophyllum tortuosum Foslie
María José Cardell

Fabricia sabella is the most commom polychaete in the Medes islands"trottoirs" of Lithophyllum tortuosum: its average abundance represents 38 per cent of total Polychaete number in the population of the trottoir. Because of its importance, a study of its spatial and seasonal distribution was carried out. For the spatial distribution study, six zones in the trottoir were considered separately: three vertical levels (upper or emerged level, medium, and lower or immersed level), and at each of them both inner and outer fractions. The distribution of F. sabella in the trottoir is heterogeneous. The abundance of this species is maximum in the inner fraction of the upper level, in contrast to the remainder of the polychaete populations that are most abundant in the lower level of the trottoir where the environmental conditions are more favourable.

Keywords: Fabricia sabella, ecological characteristics, distribution, trottoir, western Mediterranean.
Contents of this volume Sci. Mar. 54(3) : 305-310 Back PDF
 
 
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