SANTOS, A. G.; http://lattes.cnpq.br/4764173840698795; SANTOS, Amanda Gonçalves.
Abstract:
Meiofauna is composed of a metazoan organisms that have a reduced body size ranging from 0.045 mm to 0.05 mm, adapted to interstitial life. A group of great ecological importance, which has been widely used as a tool for biomonitoring of impacted regions, due to its extreme connection with the sediment. The purpose of this work is to compare qualitatively and quantitatively the meiofauna of the Region South of Pirangi RN, comparing the values of the estuary, beach and sandstones reefs in a spatio-temporal scale, connecting these values to biotic, abiotic and possible human actions. They were analyzed two collections, one in the period of higher rainfall and another one, during period of lowest in the year 2012. Over beachs, reef´s and estuary´s three transects with four replications were traced, with a total of 36 samples, collected at a depth of 10cm, with the aid of a PVC tube of 9.42 cm² of internal area. The meiofauna of the region was represented by: Nematoda, Copepoda, Polychaeta, Oligochaeta, Gastrotricha, Turbellaria, Tardigrada, Ostracoda and Nauplius. During the dry period, the community presented with a bigger number of groups in both points of study, and of these, Nematoda, the continuous distribution group comprising 100% of the samples, highlighting also in terms of abundance which, however was outdated by Oligochaeta with 36% of the community. In the rainy season the group with higher frequency of occurrence was Ostracoda with 75 %. Gastrotricha and Tardigrada groups did not occur during that season and being the most abundant group Nematoda with 51%, temporally meiofauna community presented differences (significance level 0.1%) and spatially, the analyzes showed no differences between the environments studied (significance level of 9.9%), these values are mainly associated with disturbances caused in the community during the period of higher rainfall.
