'Revista da Biologia, Reitoria da Universidade de Sao Paulo'
Abstract
The macrofauna assemblages of a XVIIth century shipwreck off southern Portugal were studied and
compared with those of nearby natural reefs and sandy bottoms, by underwater visual census. A total
of 11 173 specimens of 224 different fauna taxa and 12 phyla were recorded. Natural reefs had the
highest density of specimens (35 122 / 1000 m2) followed by the shipwreck (21 392 / 1000 m2) and
the sandy bottoms (3771 / 1000 m2). Three biodiversity indices were estimated (Margalef, Shannon-
Wiener and Pielou), with the natural reefs showing the highest values. However, the shipwreck
presented values relatively similar to those of the natural reefs for the Shannon-Wiener and Pielou
indices. The three habitats were clearly distinguishable by multivariate statistical analysis, with the
average dissimilarity between sand and shipwreck, and between sand and natural reefs being much
higher than that between the shipwreck and the natural reefs. The shipwreck had higher abundances
of some commercially important species, such as the pouting Trisopterus luscus, European conger
Conger conger, and common spider crab Maja squinado, as well as some vulnerable and threatened
species such as the pink seafan Eunicella verrucosa. The results presented emphasize the importance
of this habitat on the southern Portuguese coast.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
