Four congeneric species of pelagic copepods (Acartia margalefi, A. clausi, A. discaudata and A. grani) coexist in the ría of Vigo, an estuary located on the NW Spanish coast. There is a partial segregation of the species along the axis of the ría, their respective abundances decreasing exponentially from the zones of maximum densities. A. margalefi and A. grani have been found exclusively in the inner part of the ría, while A. clausi is more abundant in the external zones, and A. discaudata occupies an intermediate area. Temperature and salinity gradients seem to have less importance than the spatial differences in stability (in the sense of persistence of environmental factors) as determining the species segregation.
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Miquel Alcaraz (1983) studied this question.