PELD-ELPA | Temporal data series of Benthic macrofauna abundance and composition from the Patos Lagoon estuary

Study Extent

The samples were obtained every August (winter) and March (summer) between 1998 and 2018, comprising a 20 year’s temporal series, through a bi-annual sampling strategy. Coordinates: Pombas Island, in the Arraial embyment where the sampling points are located: 32°10'12''S and 31°57'36''S Latitude; 52°15'36''W and 52°0'36''W Longitude

Sampling

The samples were taken with a 10-cm-diameter PVC corer (0.0078 m2) buried 20 cm into the substrate. Benthic macrofauna samples were sieved through 0.3-mm meshes, fixed in formaldehyde (4 %), identified to the lowest taxonomic level (40x stereomicroscopes) and preserved in ethanol (70 %). The abundance data for each point represent the number of organisms for each species collected by the PVC corer.

Quality Control

Samples are collected by tecnical staff, Post-Graduate and trained students. The quality of data is checked monthly before the uploading in the data bank.

Method steps

1. The samples were taken with a 10-cm-diameter PVC corer (0.0078 m2) buried 20 cm into the substrate. Benthic macrofauna samples were sieved through 0.3-mm meshes, fixed in formaldehyde (4 %), identified to the lowest taxonomic level (40x stereomicroscopes) and preserved in ethanol (70 %). The abundance data for each point represent the number of organisms for each species collected by the PVC corer.
2. Data on composition and abundance of benthic macrofauna inhabiting the Patos Lagoon estuary have been biannually collected from August 1996 to December 2018. Data have been acquired through a biannual strategy, comprising Winter (August) and Summer (March) samplings. Samples are collected by a PVC corer with 20 cm in diameter and washed with a 300 µm sieve. All collected material is preserved in formaldehyde 4 %, the macrofauna specimens are identified and quantified in Laboratory.

1. Alitta succinea
   rank: species
2. Diastylis sympterygiae
   rank: species
3. Erodona mactroides
   rank: species
4. Heleobia australis
   rank: species
5. Heleobia charruana
   rank: species
6. Heteromastus similis
   rank: species
7. Laeonereis culveri
   rank: species
8. Monokalliapseudes schubarti
   rank: species
9. Nephtys fluviatilis
   rank: species
10. Sinelobus stanfordi
    rank: species
11. Sphaeromopsis mourei
    rank: species
12. Uromunna peterseni
    rank: species
13. Kupellonura
    rank: genus
14. Alitta
    rank: genus
15. Diastylis
    rank: genus
16. Erodona
    rank: genus
17. Heleobia
    rank: genus
18. Heteromastus
    rank: genus
19. Laeonereis
    rank: genus
20. Monokalliapseudes
    rank: genus
21. Nephtys
    rank: genus
22. Sinelobus
    rank: genus
23. Sphaeromopsis
    rank: genus
24. Uromunna
    rank: genus
25. Bivalvia
    rank: class
26. Gastropoda
    rank: class
27. Malacostraca
    rank: class
28. Polychaeta
    rank: class
29. Capitellidae
    rank: family
30. Cochliopidae
    rank: family
31. Corbulidae
    rank: family
32. Diastylidae
    rank: family
33. Hyssuridae
    rank: family
34. Kalliapseudidae
    rank: family
35. Munnidae
    rank: family
36. Nephtyidae
    rank: family
37. Nereididae
    rank: family
38. Sphaeromatidae
    rank: family
39. Tanaididae
    rank: family
40. Animalia
    rank: kingdom
41. Annelida
    rank: phylum
42. Arthropoda
    rank: phylum
43. Mollusca
    rank: phylum
44. Cumacea
    rank: order
45. Isopoda
    rank: order
46. Littorinimorpha
    rank: order
47. Myida
    rank: order
48. Phyllodocida
    rank: order
49. Tanaidacea
    rank: order
50. Tagelus plebeius
    rank: species
51. Tagelus
    rank: genus
52. Solecurtidae
    rank: family
53. Cardiida
    rank: order

The Patos Lagoon at the southern Brazilian coastal plain (Rio Grande do Sul state) is the largest (10,360 km2) choked lagoon in the world stretching in a NE SW direction from the city of Porto Alegre (30º30’ S) to Rio Grande (32º12’ S). In the southern estuarine region, approximately 10 % of total area, a single and narrow inlet connects this lagoon to the Atlantic Ocean. The major tributary rivers at the northern and central areas of Patos Lagoon, and the São Gonçalo channel at the southern area, are significant freshwater sources from an extensive drainage basin. The hydrodynamics of Patos Lagoon estuary is strongly controlled by the discharge of tributary rivers and the action of predominant meteorological factors like winds, rainfall and evaporation.