A total of twelve higher metazoan taxa were identified in Sancti
Petri Channel during the sampling period. Nine taxa were found in
bare sediment and 8 taxa in sediment covered with macroalgae.
The macroalgae canopy contained 9 higher taxa. Nematoda were
the dominant taxon both in bare sediment (52–82% of total abundance)
and in sediments covered with macroalgae (92–96%)
(Table 1). Nematoda abundance increased six times in the presence