Distribution and Abundance of Hydrobiid Snails in a Mixed Estuary and a Coastal Lagoon, Argentina

This study examined the environmental factors influencing the distribution and abundance of hydrobiid snails in two estuaries on the northeastern coast of Argentina in a coastal lagoon (Mar Chiquita, 37°40′S, 57°20′W) and a partially mixed estuary (Quequén Grande, 38°30′S, 58°45′W). Five intertidal...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Estuaries 2003-06, Vol.26 (3), p.790-797
Main Authors: de Francesco, Claudio G., Isla, Federico I.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abundance
Animal populations
Argentina, Mar Chiquita
Argentina, Quequen Grande
Biogeography
Brackish
Coastal lagoons
Distribution
Distribution patterns
Environmental conditions
Environmental factors
Estuaries
Estuarine dynamics
Freshwater
Gastropoda
Geographical distribution
Heleobia australis
Heleobia conexa
Heleobia parchappei
Inlets
Interspecific competition
Lagoons
Marine
Marine ecology
Mollusks
Oxygen
Pattern recognition
Salinity
Salinity effects
Salinity gradients
Sediments
Snails
Texadina
Waves
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Summary:This study examined the environmental factors influencing the distribution and abundance of hydrobiid snails in two estuaries on the northeastern coast of Argentina in a coastal lagoon (Mar Chiquita, 37°40′S, 57°20′W) and a partially mixed estuary (Quequén Grande, 38°30′S, 58°45′W). Five intertidal study sites in each estuary represented a gradient in environmental conditions. Variations in the main environmental factors and in the abundance of hydrobiids were assessed both spatially and seasonally. The three species were Heleobia australis, Heleobia conexa, and Heleobia parchappii, and they were primarily distributed across a salinity gradient. This pattern was clearly recognizable in the partially mixed estuary, where the abundance of H. australis decreased as salinity decreased, and the abundance of H. conexa gradually increased towards the inner reaches of the estuary. H. parchappii was restricted to areas far away from the influence of the tide. Slight differences in the distribution patterns of these species between Quequén Grande and Mar Chiquita were related to the different dynamics of environmental factors in each estuary.
ISSN:0160-8347
1559-2723
1559-2731
DOI:10.1007/BF02711989