The Value of By-Catch: Can We Use Commercial Species Stock Assessment Cruises for the Study of Non-Target Species? The Case of Sponges
The contribution of sponges to benthic communities in three areas of the Argentine continental shelf and slope (North, Central and South), between 34° and 55° S and between 47 and 551 m, is presented here. Sponges were recorded as components of the invertebrate by-catch in 51% of the studied sites (...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Biology and Life Sciences Forum |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-9976/39/1/4 |
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| Summary: | The contribution of sponges to benthic communities in three areas of the Argentine continental shelf and slope (North, Central and South), between 34° and 55° S and between 47 and 551 m, is presented here. Sponges were recorded as components of the invertebrate by-catch in 51% of the studied sites (133 hauls). On average, sponges constituted 18.01% of the benthic community (47.91 kg/mn<sup>2</sup>, in terms of density), reaching more than 90% of the by-catch and more than 500 kg/mn<sup>2</sup> at some particular sites. A total of 34 sponge taxa were recorded. <i>Tedania</i> spp., <i>Clathria</i> (<i>C.</i>) <i>microxa</i> and Callyspongidae (<i>Siphonochalina fortis</i> + <i>Callyspongia</i> sp.) were the only taxa shared among the three sampled areas. Sixty percent (60%) of the sponge species were recorded only at one or two sites. |
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| ISSN: | 2673-9976 |