Se estudiaron la composición en especies, la distribución y la dinámica espacio-temporal de los crustaceos suprabentonicos de la familia Mysidae Haworth, 1825 (Peracarida, Mysida), en un area de la plataforma continental del Mar Adriatico del Norte. Siete especies fueron capturadas: Anchialina agilis, Erythrops elegans, Haplostylus lobatus, Leptomysis gracilis, Mysidopsis angusta, Mysidopsis gibbosa, Paraleptomysis banyulensis. A. agilis, E. elegans y L. gracilis dominaron las capturas, por lo que concierne la frecuencia de captura, los valores de abundancia y biomasa. Las capturas mostraron amplias fluctuaciones temporales, con un mínimo en Julio-Septiembre, probablemente debido tanto a las caracteristicas del ciclo biológico de las especies como a factores ambientales, en este caso a la presencia de agregados mucilaginosos cerca del fondo.

Species composition, distribution, and spatio temporal dynamics of hyperbenthic Mysidae Haworth, 1825 (Peracarida, Mysida) were studied on the continental shelf of the northern Adriatic Sea. A total of seven species was collected: Anchialina agilis, Erythrops elegans, Haplostylus lobatus, Leptomysis gracilis, Mysidopsis angusta, Mysidopsis gibbosa, and Paraleptomysis banyulensis. The hyperbenthic mysid assemblage was dominated by A. agilis, E. elegans, and L. gracilis, in terms of frequency of occurrence, abundance, and biomass. Notable seasonal fluctuations in the abundance of the catches were observed, with a minimum reached in the period July-September, probably due to the species’ life cycles as well as to environmental factors, such as the presence of mucilaginous aggregates close to the bottom.

The authors would like to thank Dr. Montserrat Demestre, Institut de Ciències del Mar (CMIMA-CSIC), Barcelona, coordinator of the EU Project RESPONSE (Q5RS-2001-00787), for her support and scientific assistance.

9 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables

Peer reviewed