Amphipoda

Rousou, Maria, Plaiti, Wanda, Lowry, Jim, Charalambous, Stephanos & Chintiroglou, Chariton Charles, 2020, Amphipoda species (Suborders: Amphilochidea and Senticaudata) from Vasiliko Bay, Cyprus: New records, information on their biogeography and an annotated checklist from the coasts of Cyprus, Zootaxa 4896 (3), pp. 373-408 : 375-378

Amphipoda abundances and diversity

A total of 45,721 fauna individuals were counted (42 stations, 3 replicas, 126 samples), of which 2,122 individuals were amphipods ( Amphilochidea and Senticaudata ) (4.64 % of total macrofauna abundance). The Amphipoda were classified into 25 families and 52 species. The family Aoridae presented the highest densities (851 individuals), contributing to 42 % of overall amphipod abundance and in conjunction with four other families ( Aoridae , Oedicerotidae , Ampeliscidae , Dexaminidae and Phoxocephalidae ) counting to 77 % of overall amphipod abundance ( Fig. 2 ). The family Ischyroceridae was present with six species, followed by Aoridae and Oedicerotidae with five species ( Fig. 3 ).

A total of 24 species is reported for the first time in Cyprus, increasing the number of Amphipoda from 117 to 141 species. Two species were found to be constant in Vasiliko Bay ( M. periergos , Perioculodes longimanus ), seven species were common ( Ampelisca brevicornis , Ampelisca typica , Apherusa chiereghinii , Dexamine spinosa , Harpinia crenulata , Leptocheirus pectinatus , Leucothoe incisa ) and 43 species considered as rare. The species M. periergos that was described for the first time from the same stations in Vasiliko Bay ( Myers et al. 2018) presented the highest densities (676 individuals, ~32 %), followed by the species P. longimanus (311 individuals, ~14.6 %).

The highest amphipod abundances (per 0.1 m 2) were recorded in station 17 (located near dense P. oceanica meadows), station14 (deepest limit of P. oceanica meadow, near a fish farm), stations 2 and 5 (near a fish farm) and station 37 (Vasiliko port entrance) ( Fig. 4 ). The high abundance values can be attributed to the dense populations formed by the M. periergos (15–42 individuals / 0.1 m 2).

The number of amphipod species per station ranged between 1 and 15, while no amphipods were recorded at station 42. The Species Richness index presented similar trends to the abundance distribution with the higher values being recorded in stations 2, 5, 14, 17, as well as in stations 9 and 30 ( Fig. 5 ). Low numbers of species were observed near ports and at stations 6 and 8 located west of the Cape Dolos. With regard to the Shannon-Wiener index, the highest diversity indices were recorded in the deepest sampling stations, far away from P. oceanica meadows (stations 18, 30, 31, 36, 41) as well as in stations 9 and 14 ( Fig. 6 ).

Spearman correlation coefficient indicated that the Shannon-Wiener index was positively correlated with depth (0.33, p<0.05) ( Table 2). A negative correlation with depth was observed for species Bathyporeia guilliamsoniana and A. brevicornis (p<0.01) and a positive for the species Leucothoe lilljeborgi , Jassa ocia , Lysianassina longicornis , Ampithoe ramondi, D. Spinosa (p<0.05), Eriopisa elongata , Harpinia crenulata , Pereionotus testudo and Westwoodilla rectirostris (p<0.01) ( Table 2).

The species Pontocrates sp., Aora spinicornis , P. longimanus (p<0.05), B. guilliamsoniana , A. brevicornis and Guernea (Guernea) coalita (p<0.01) were negatively correlated with organic matter while the species Dexamine spiniventris , Peltocoxa gibbosa , W. rectirostris , (p<0.05), H. crenulata and L. longicornis (p<0.01) presented a positive correlation ( Table 2).

Information on the distribution and ecology of the amphipod species recorded in Vasiliko Bay, is provided below.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Number of individuals per family. (80 individuals that were classified to higher taxa (Amphilochidea) are not included in the figure).

FIGURE 3. Number of species per family (individuals classified to higher taxa are not included in the figure).

FIGURE 4. Average amphipod (Amphilochidea and Senticaudata) abundances (0.1 m2) reported in Vasiliko Bay.

FIGURE 5. Amphipod (Amphilochidea and Senticaudata) species richness reported in Vasiliko Bay.

FIGURE 6. Amphipod (Amphilochidea and Senticaudata) Shannon-Wiener index reported in Vasiliko Bay.