A Study of the Relationship Between Freshwater Runoff and Benthos Abundance: a Scale-oriented Approach

In some coastal environments, freshwater runoff is one of the main potential sources of auxiliary energy. Little is known, however, about the mechanisms by which this energy input influences biological production, particularly at intermediate and high trophic levels. Moreover, the evidence available does not allow to link runoff variability one unambiguously to the dynamics of marine fauna. Here, an empirical approach based on exploratory data analysis is used to test for a link between these components of the ecosystem. Linear regression and correlation models were used to examine the relationship between runoff and abundance, biomass and mean weight per individual of juvenile populations (