Taxonomia de poliquetas associados aos rodolitos (corallinophycidae, rhodophyta), na praia do Seixas, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brasil

Abstract

The present work presented a taxonomic study of polychaetes associated with rhodoliths, in Seixas Beach, João Pessoa, Brazil, collected in the month of December, 2016. It includes general descriptions of the body anatomy of the polychaetes. This research also contributed to the knowledge of the unique morphological characteristics that serve to diagnose at family and species level, a taxonomic key as an essential tool to delimit and identify the species, illustrations of each identified species, geographic distribution of collected species and characterization of functional groups. A collection was made in the infralittoral area at Seixas Beach, at location 07 ° 09 13 S and 34 ° 47 21 W, at 1.5 m depth. Resulted in the collection of 45 individuals of polychaetes grouped in 8 families, 12 genera and 14 species. Two are reported for the first time on the coast of Paraíba: Eunice tridentata and Nephtys squamosa. The first occurrence of Eunice armillata for the Brazilian coast and Northeast of Brazil was registered. From the determination of the composition of the feeding guilds it was possible to measure the occurrence of only the carnivorous, detritivorous and omnivorous habits, with no overlapping of any habits over the others. There is a description of several studies that declare the importance of this reef ecosystem, such as sandstone reefs or rhodoliths of Seixas Beach, due to its structural and functional complexity, so it is possible to measure the need for investments in taxonomic studies of populations of polychaetes, since with this systematic support it will be possible to increase the knowledge of the fauna of polychaetes, which still seems to be sub-sampled in the place.