Scholarlink

<p>Ecology of marine tardigrades is mostly based on species abundance, but much less is known about morphological traits and biomass distribution. This study is the first to evaluate the size spectra and biomass variation of tardigrades across four biotopes (lagoon, backreef, crest, and forereef) from a coral reef and explore their relationship with temperature, dissolved oxygen, and sediment properties. We generated metrics of size spectra and dry biomass of 1106 tardigrades belonging to 27 species. Length (median: 137&#xa0;μm, range: 72–377&#xa0;μm) and width (median: 78&#xa0;μm, range: 19–264&#xa0;μm) showed unimodal distribution in all the biotopes. Body shape (median: 1.7, range: 0.68–5.47) had a bimodal distribution in the lagoon and unimodal distributions in the other three biotopes. The biomass varied significantly between species, life stage, and biotopes. <i>Florarctus</i> was represented by the two heaviest species (<i>Florarctus</i> sp. 6 and <i>Florarctus yucatanensis</i>) followed by <i>Styraconyx robertoi</i>. The heaviest tardigrades were females, followed by indeterminate stages, males, and juveniles. The heaviest tardigrades occurred in the forereef, backreef, and crest, and the tardigrades with intermediate and lightest biomass occurred in the lagoon. The distribution of total biomass in the coral reef showed maxima in the crest (204&#xa0;µg) and forereef (179&#xa0;µg), characterized by highest values of dissolved oxygen and coarse sands with high permeability and porosity. Our study provides insight on the size spectra and biomass distribution of tardigrades, which is important to further decipher the role of meiofauna in trophic web and carbon flows in coral reefs.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Size spectra and biomass of marine tardigrades in Xcalak coral reef from the Mesoamerican Reef System

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年4月10日

查看全文
  • Wilbert Andrés Pérez-Pech,
  • Maickel Armenteros,
  • Alberto de Jesús-Navarrete

摘要

Ecology of marine tardigrades is mostly based on species abundance, but much less is known about morphological traits and biomass distribution. This study is the first to evaluate the size spectra and biomass variation of tardigrades across four biotopes (lagoon, backreef, crest, and forereef) from a coral reef and explore their relationship with temperature, dissolved oxygen, and sediment properties. We generated metrics of size spectra and dry biomass of 1106 tardigrades belonging to 27 species. Length (median: 137 μm, range: 72–377 μm) and width (median: 78 μm, range: 19–264 μm) showed unimodal distribution in all the biotopes. Body shape (median: 1.7, range: 0.68–5.47) had a bimodal distribution in the lagoon and unimodal distributions in the other three biotopes. The biomass varied significantly between species, life stage, and biotopes. Florarctus was represented by the two heaviest species (Florarctus sp. 6 and Florarctus yucatanensis) followed by Styraconyx robertoi. The heaviest tardigrades were females, followed by indeterminate stages, males, and juveniles. The heaviest tardigrades occurred in the forereef, backreef, and crest, and the tardigrades with intermediate and lightest biomass occurred in the lagoon. The distribution of total biomass in the coral reef showed maxima in the crest (204 µg) and forereef (179 µg), characterized by highest values of dissolved oxygen and coarse sands with high permeability and porosity. Our study provides insight on the size spectra and biomass distribution of tardigrades, which is important to further decipher the role of meiofauna in trophic web and carbon flows in coral reefs.