Estrutura da comunidade meiofaunística de três praias rochosas de diferentes condições geográficas no Nordeste brasileiro

Abstract

The meiofauna is composed of marine organisms from 0.044 to 0.5mm in size and is tipically found in interstitial habitats. The composition of the meiofaunistic community is determined by size and type of sediment, as well as the geological, physical and chemical factors. These organisms are considered bioindicators due to their close relationship with the middle, wide distribution, rapid regeneration time and because they are organisms sensitive to environmental change. This work analyzed samples from the mid-coast and lower-mid-coast of Atalaia beaches, Archipelago Fernando de Noronha, Ilha do farol, Atol das Rocas and Muro Alto beach, in the southern coast of Pernambuco, aiming know and compare the meiofaunistic communities found in each beach. The material was treated at laboratory through routine techniques for the study of meiofauna, which was identified at high taxonomic levels. The main hypothesis of this work was that the meiofaunistic community found in the three beaches would be structurally similar, because they are characteristically rocky beach communities. With the results of the statistical analysis we saw that the meiofaunistic composition showed differences in diversity and species richness of each site studied, probably due to the different sediments types.