A comparative study of the marine ecoregions of the southern Iberian Peninsula, as identified from different coastal habitats

EC Directive 2000/60 of the European Parliament and of the Council of Europe provides for the need to establish ecological regions along European coasts. The present article outlines research carried out in various coastal marine ecosystems as a contribution to the characterization of these ecoregions of the coast of Andalusia (southern Spain). Sampling was undertaken along the coastline in the intertidal zone and sublittoral sediments. The various systems studied all gave very similar results with regard to the ecoregions identified, which is indicative of their robustness. These results consistently identified a main Mediterranean region, which could subsequently be subdivided into two, as well as three main ecoregions in the Atlantic: one from the Straits of Gibraltar to the Bay of Cadiz, and the other two along the Huelva coastline, which are clearly affected by the effluents of major river systems such as the Guadalquivir, Odiel and Tinto. Our results suggest that similar structuring factors are operating within these systems.La Directiva 2000/60 CE del Parlamento Europeo y del Consejo Europeo contempla la necesidad de establecer regiones ecológicas a lo largo del litoral europeo. Con el objetivo de contribuir a la delimitación y caracterización de estas ecorregiones se ha realizado este estudio de varios ecosistemas marinos centrado en el litoral andaluz (sur de España). Los muestreos se realizaron en la franja intermareal rocosa y en sedimentos infralitorales. Los sistemas estudiados dieron resultados similares con respecto a la definición de las distintas ecorregiones. Así, se identificó una gran área mediterránea, que podría dividirse en dos, y otra atlántica, que se divide en tres ecorregiones: una comprende desde el estrecho de Gibraltar hasta la bahía de Cádiz y otras dos emplazadas en el litoral de Huelva caracterizadas por la presencia de importantes efluentes fluviales como el Guadalquivir, el Odiel y el Tinto. Los resultados sugieren que existen factores estructurales similares en estos sistemas.Instituto Español de Oceanografí