MANGROVE ECOSYSTEM: ANALYSIS OF SOIL INVERTEBRATE MESOFAUNA, MARECHAL DEODORO, ALAGOAS

Abstract

The mangrove is an ecosystem with ecological and economic importance subjected to anthropic action reflected in soil biodiversity. The objective was to evaluate whether the taxonomic groups of edaphic mesofauna present differences in abundance and richness among the studied areas (Agricultural, Degraded, Transition - Civil Construction/Mangrove Edge, and Mangrove) and how the edaphoclimatic elements influence these variables, in Marechal Deodoro, Alagoas. The research was conducted in May and June/2019 in the Estuarine-Lagunar Mundaú/Manguaba Complex (CELMM). Ten soil samples were collected with metal rings of dimensions 4.8 x 5 cm, at depth 0-5 cm and the organisms with length between 0.2 and 2 mm extracted in Berlese-Tullgren extractor battery, preserved in 70% alcohol and identified with binocular magnifier. TS and SWT measurements were taken at the depth 0-10 cm. Data were tested for normality (Shapiro-Wilk) and homoscedasticity (Fligner Test), and hypotheses tested by Spearman correlation, Kruskal-Wallis analysis, and Dunn's post-hoc test, performed in RStudio, version 4.1.0. The greatest richness of taxonomic groups is found in the Transition and Mangrove areas and the abundance in the Degraded area; The abundance and richness of mesofauna organisms present a direct correlation with TS, confirmed by Spearman's correlation estimates.