Sampling strategy for macrofauna characterization on three exposed sandy beaches of the Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

Abstract

Few papers have discussed the sampling strategy which includes the total sampling area, the number of transects and strata. The total sampling area may affect the survey of species thus leading to an underestimate or to unnecessary efforts in some cases. In this study the data obtained on reflectives beaches (de Fora, Boqueirão and Prainha), with low richness in species, show that more than 90% of the species are captured on a total sampling area of 2 m². Through the analysis of different sampling desenhos it can be concluded that the number of transect and the number of strata does not influence the richness, once the samplings being performed in regions with distinctive physical characteristics (supralittoral, midlittoral and infralittoral). The number of replicae will depend on the size of the total sampling area, the size of the sampler and the number of transects to be utilized.