Benthic fauna of the Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park (SW Portugal) collected in August 2011

A macrozoobenthos species list is provided, based on datasets originated from infralittoral and upper circalittoral samples (10 to 53 m depth) collected in the soft sediment bottom off Sines within the marine area of the Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park (SW Portugal). Species composition and abundance per sampling station are provided.
The samples were collected during one dedicated sampling survey in August 2011. Triplicate sediment samples were collected at each georeferenced sampling site with a Smith-McIntyre grab with a sampling area of 0.1 m2. In the laboratorylaboratory, the samples were analysed for species composition and abundance, and sediment grain size as well as organic matter content were determined for each sampling site. The work was carried out in the framework of the MeshAtlantic Project (Atlantic Area Trans-national Programme), aiming at classifying and mapping the benthic habitats and associated communities of the study area using the EUNIS system.