Ecology, Distribution, and Systematics of Leucothoid Amphipods of the West Florida Shelf Benthic Ecosystem

This work examined the leucothoid amphipods collected during the Hourglass cruises (R/V Hernan Cortez 1965 – 1967) across the West Florida Shelf (Joyce et al., 1969), focusing on species identification and distributional patterns. Five of the six species identified were known from Caribbean and eastern Atlantic waters. This collection expands the known range of all five species to the Gulf of Mexico. The sixth species, Leucothoe L, is diagnosed as new. Although 16 stations were sampled, data was analyzed statistically only from the 10 stations where leucothoids were found, (stas. A-E and I-M). A SIMPROF dendogram generated from relative abundance data identified three groups of stations with similar community composition (Group 1 - I, A, J at the 100% level; Group 2 - D, C, L at the 83% level, and Group 3 - E, M, B, K at the 87% level). A SIMPER analysis revealed that L. kensleyi was the most statistically influential species in community composition when comparing groups 1 versus 2 and 1 versus 3, while L. ashelyae, L. barana, L. kensleyi, and L. urospinosa contributed equally to the difference seen between groups 2 and 3