Resumen:
The phylum Nematoda comprehends the largest abundances and densities in several ecosystems, by gathering animals whose morphological features are adaptable to the many types of benthic habitats, including sandy beaches. These environments are quite explored, but there is no data recorded to the coast of Paraiba on the studied community in specific level. This study aimed to characterize taxonomically and ecologically the nematofauna community of four urban beaches of Paraiba coast. A single sample was realized in October 2013, in each beach three distinct points were established, following the line of the water, in the middle coast, with 10 centimeters deep in the sediment, the samples were fixed with 4% saline formaldehyde. The samples were washed in running water using a sieve with a mesh of 0.044 mm and retained material was transferred to a beaker. The Nematoda were screened in a Dolffus plate and diaphanized, identified and measured at genus and species with the aid of a binocular microscope equipped with clear camera. Nematoda represented more than 90% of the meiofauna which was studied. We found 6 orders, 13 families and 26 genera, including Phanodermelha, Nemmanema and Rhabdodemania that were reported here for the first time to the beaches in Brazil. We identified 22 species, 4 of them which are new to science. The highest density was related to Calomicrolaimus which was represented only by the species Calomicrolaimus rugatus. The values of diversity and dominance as well as the total wealth, ranged among the beaches. The trophic structure presented a higher abundance in the type 1B followed by 2B. The development stage was dominated by juveniles. The ANOSIM showed that there are significant differences among the beaches. In MDS ordination analysis a group was formed, separating Bessa beach from the others. The species that mostly contributed to the dissimilarities were Mesacanthion rigens, Bathylaimus parafilicaudatus, Pseudosteineria sagittispiculata, Pseudosteineria horrida, Calomicrolaimus rugatus and Theristus complexus, analyzed by SIMPER. Among the environmental variables, very coarse sand was the most correlated with the community structure. The genera and species maintained the same pattern density, trophic structure and dominance among the prospected beaches. Thus, the community structure was distributed according to the abiotic factors studied.
