Patterns of spatial variation of assemblages associated with intertidal rocky shores: A global perspective

Assemblages associated with intertidal rocky shores were examined for large scale distribution patterns with specific emphasis on identifying latitudinal trends of species richness and taxonomic distinctiveness. Seventy-two sites distributed around the globe were evaluated following the standardized sampling protocol of the Census of Marine Life NaGISA project (www.nagisa.coml.org). There were no clear patterns of standardized estimators of species richness along latitudinal gradients or among Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs); however, a strong latitudinal gradient in taxonomic composition (i.e., proportion of different taxonomic groups in a given sample) was observed. Environmental variables related to natural influences were strongly related to the distribution patterns of the assemblages on the LME scale, particularly photoperiod, sea surface temperature (SST) and rainfall. In contrast, no environmental variables directly associated with human influences (with the exception of the inorganic pollution index) were related to assemblage patterns among LMEs. Correlations of the natural assemblages with either latitudinal gradients or environmental variables were equally strong suggesting that neither neutral models nor models based solely on environmental variables sufficiently explain spatial variation of these assemblages at a global scale. Despite the data shortcomings in this study (e.g., unbalanced sample distribution), we show the importance of generating biological global databases for the use in large-scale diversity comparisons of rocky intertidal assemblages to stimulate continued sampling and analyses. Fil: Cruz-Motta, Juan José. Universidad Simón Bolívar; Venezuela Fil: Miloslavich, Patricia. Universidad Simón Bolívar; Venezuela Fil: Palomo, Maria Gabriela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”; Argentina Fil: Iken, Katrin. University Of Alaska; Estados Unidos Fil: Konar, Brenda. University Of Alaska; Estados Unidos Fil: Pohle, Gerhard. Huntsman Marine Science Centre; Canadá Fil: Trott, Tom. Suffolk University; Fil: Benedetti-Cecchi, Lisandro. Università degli Studi di Pisa; Italia Fil: Herrera, César. Universidad Simón Bolívar; Venezuela Fil: Hernández, Alejandra. Universidad Simón Bolívar; Venezuela Fil: Sardi, Adriana. Universidad Simón Bolívar; Venezuela Fil: Bueno, Andrea. Universidad Simón Bolívar; Venezuela Fil: Castillo, Julio. Universidad Simón Bolívar; Venezuela Fil: Klein, Eduardo. Universidad Simón Bolívar; Venezuela Fil: Guerra-Castro, Edlin. Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas; Venezuela Fil: Gobin, Judith. The University Of The West Indies, St. Augustine Campus; Fil: Gómez, Diana Isabel. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras José Benito Vives de Andréis; Colombia Fil: Riosmena-Rodríguez, Rafael. Universidad Autonoma de Baja California Sur; Estados Unidos Fil: Mead, Angela. University Of Cape Town; Fil: Bigatti, Gregorio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; Argentina Fil: Knowlton, Ann. University Of Alaska; Estados Unidos Fil: Shirayama, Yoshihisa. Field Science Education And Research Center