Tropical Tidal Flat Benthos Compared Between Australia an Central America
283
Table 13.3. Abundant macrobenthic species (500 Ilm) in several tropical tidal flats of
Australia and Central America. The species are listed in a decreasing rank order of
abundance. See Fig. 13.1 for sites and sources. A Amphipoda; B Bivalvia; Br Brachiopoda; C Cumacea; D Decapoda; G Gastropoda; 0 Ostracoda; Op Ophiurida; P Polychaeta; S Sipuncula
Rank order
Australia
2
3
4
5
Central
America
2
3
4
5
Hinchinbrook Channel
Theodoxus oualaniensis
(G, Neritidae)
Cerithium cf. coralium
(G, Cerithiidae)
Amygdalum glaberrima
(B, Mytilidae)
Lingula anatina
(Br, Lingulidae)
Pitar coxeni (B, Veneridae)
Estero de Jaltepeque
Dasybranchus
lumbricoides
(P, Capitellidae)
Cumacea indet. (C)
Acesta lopezi
(P, Paraonidae)
Haploscoloplos
elongatus
(P,Orbiniidae)
Sigambra ocellata
(P, Pilargiidae)
Site
Haughton River Estuary
Tellina australis
(B, Tellinidae)
Gammaridae indet.
(A, Gammaridae)
Armandia secundariopapillata
(P,Opheliidae)
Haustoriidae indet.
(A, Haustoriidae)
Barantolla sp. (P, Capitellidae)
Punta Morales
Cocorocas
Coricuma
Glottidia audebarti
nicoyensis (C)
(Br, Lingulidae)
Mediomastus
Sipunculus nudus (S)
californiensis
(P, Capitellidae)
Paraprionospio
Nereidae sp. 1 (P,
pinnata
Nereidae)
(P, Spionidae)
Cyprideis
Amphipholis
pacifica (0)
geminata (Op)
Pinnixia valerii (D,
Dosinia dunkeri
Pinnotheridae)
(G, Veneridae)
geneous nature of the tropical tidal flats that differed in areal extent, sediment
gradients and megabenthic fauna (see below). With the complex animal-sediment relations in soft -sediment systems, the varying occurrence of macrobenthic organisms can result from the availability of certain substrate and/or
interactions with macro- and megabenthic species providing microhabitats
and therefore functioning as ecosystem engineers.
This longitudinal comparison of species diversity and abundances showed
a high degree of variation within tropical tidal flats. Species numbers were