Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Keystone Species01:39

Keystone Species

22.4K
Measures of species biodiversity, such as richness (i.e., the number of species present) and evenness (i.e., their relative abundance), describe an ecological community’s structure. Many factors affect community structure, including abiotic factors (e.g., sunlight and nutrients), disturbances (e.g., fire or flood), species interactions (e.g., predation or competition), and chance events (e.g., foreign species invasion). Certain species—such as keystone species—also play a...
22.4K
Sustainable Development01:43

Sustainable Development

13.6K
As the human population continues to grow and use resources, we must be mindful of our planet’s natural limits. Sustainable development provides a pathway to maintain and improve human life now while also ensuring that future generations will have the resources that they need. The long-term success of sustainability efforts rests on understanding the interplay between human actions and ecological systems.
13.6K
Habitat Fragmentation02:31

Habitat Fragmentation

17.9K
Habitat fragmentation describes the division of a more extensive, continuous habitat into smaller, discontinuous areas. Human activities such as land conversion, as well as slower geological processes leading to changes in the physical environment, are the two leading causes of habitat fragmentation. The fragmentation process typically follows the same steps: perforation, dissection, fragmentation, shrinkage, and attrition.
17.9K
Ecological Niches02:02

Ecological Niches

24.6K
All organisms have a position within an ecosystem. The complete set of living and nonliving factors—including food resources, climate, and terrain—that define the position of a given organism are collectively referred to as the organism’s ecological niche.
24.6K
Conservation of Small Populations02:04

Conservation of Small Populations

13.7K
Small population sizes put a species at extreme risk of extinction due to a lack of variation, and a consequent decrease in adaptability. This weakens the chances of survival under pressures such as climate change, competition from other species, or new diseases. Large populations are more likely to survive pressures such as these, as such populations are more likely to harbor individuals that have genetic variants that are adaptive under new stresses. Small populations are much less...
13.7K
Predator-Prey Interactions02:39

Predator-Prey Interactions

19.2K
Predators consume prey for energy. Predators that acquire prey and prey that avoid predation both increase their chances of survival and reproduction (i.e., fitness). Routine predator-prey interactions elicit mutual adaptations that improve predator offenses, such as claws, teeth, and speed, as well as prey defenses, including crypsis, aposematism, and mimicry. Thus, predator-prey interactions resemble an evolutionary arms race.
19.2K
  1. Home
  3. Research Domains
  5. Indigenous Studies
  7. Pacific Peoples Environmental Knowledges
  9. Pacific Peoples Fisheries And Customary Fisheries
  11. Community Structure Of Marine Megafauna Inhabiting The Gulf Of Arauco: The Role Of Natural And Anthropogenic Factors In Its Spatial-temporal Dynamics

Community structure of marine megafauna inhabiting the Gulf of Arauco: The role of natural and anthropogenic factors in its spatial-temporal dynamics

Eduardo Hernández-Miranda1, Ninoska Figueroa2, Santiago Miranda3

  • 1Program for Ecosystem Studies in the Gulf of Arauco (PREGA), Faculty of Natural and Oceanographic Sciences, Universidad de Concepción, Chile; Departamento de Oceanografía, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción, Chile; Laboratory for Research in Aquatic Ecosystems (LInEA), Concepción, Chile.

Marine Environmental Research
|July 6, 2025

Related Experiment Videos

Coral Reef Arks: An In Situ Mesocosm and Toolkit for Assembling Reef Communities
07:59

Coral Reef Arks: An In Situ Mesocosm and Toolkit for Assembling Reef Communities

Published on: January 6, 2023

3.6K
Measuring the Structure, Composition, and Change of Underwater Environments with Large-area Imaging
09:19

Measuring the Structure, Composition, and Change of Underwater Environments with Large-area Imaging

Published on: April 18, 2025

826
A Standardized Procedure for Monitoring Harmful Algal Blooms in Chile by Metabarcoding Analysis
09:47

A Standardized Procedure for Monitoring Harmful Algal Blooms in Chile by Metabarcoding Analysis

Published on: August 26, 2021

5.4K

View abstract on PubMed

Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Benthic megafauna in Chile's Gulf of Arauco show distinct patterns near a pulp mill outfall. Organic matter from the outfall influences species distribution and abundance, with higher richness near the source but greater diversity further away.

Area of Science:

  • Marine Ecology
  • Environmental Science
  • Oceanography

Background:

  • Understanding ecological impacts of anthropogenic activities is crucial.
  • The Gulf of Arauco faces intensive coastal use and industrial effluent discharge.
  • A submarine pipeline releases wood pulp production effluent into this productive marine ecosystem.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify benthic megafauna distribution and abundance over three years.
  • To assess spatial variations in relation to a submarine outfall.
  • To identify ecological patterns influenced by terrestrial and industrial inputs.

Main Methods:

  • Conducted 13 seasonal surveys over a 3-year period.
  • Quantified species richness, abundance, and community structure.
Keywords:
BenthosDisturbancesDiversityHypoxia

Related Experiment Videos

Coral Reef Arks: An In Situ Mesocosm and Toolkit for Assembling Reef Communities
07:59

Coral Reef Arks: An In Situ Mesocosm and Toolkit for Assembling Reef Communities

Published on: January 6, 2023

3.6K
Measuring the Structure, Composition, and Change of Underwater Environments with Large-area Imaging
09:19

Measuring the Structure, Composition, and Change of Underwater Environments with Large-area Imaging

Published on: April 18, 2025

826
A Standardized Procedure for Monitoring Harmful Algal Blooms in Chile by Metabarcoding Analysis
09:47

A Standardized Procedure for Monitoring Harmful Algal Blooms in Chile by Metabarcoding Analysis

Published on: August 26, 2021

5.4K
  • Analyzed sediment for lignin, tannin, and adsorbable organic halogens (AOXs) to assess pollution.

    • Main Results:

    • Identified 92 benthic megafauna taxa, with Ophiuroidea, Gastropoda, and Anthozoa being most abundant.
    • Observed significant spatial heterogeneity in species distribution and community structure.
    • Defined three distinct zones based on proximity to the outfall, showing consistent patterns across years and seasons.
    • Areas near the outfall showed dominance by ophiuroids and higher species richness, but lower beta diversity.
    • Sediment analysis confirmed increased terrigenous and industrial inputs near the outfall.

    Conclusions:

    • Pulp mill effluent significantly influences benthic megafauna distribution and community structure in the Gulf of Arauco.
    • While species richness is higher near the outfall, overall biodiversity patterns are more complex, with greater turnover in areas farther away.
    • The study highlights the ecological impact of industrial discharge on marine benthic ecosystems.
    Pulp mill effluent