While the low variability of nematode assemblages among lagoons is likely to be a result of faunal transport due to their physical link, the high dissimilarities of the assemblages between coastal lakes might be consequence of their spatially disconnection and exposure to different environmental conditions as a result of the discrete and variable surroundings. The coastal lakes could be colonized by different adjacent freshwater sources, by flooding events  or phoresy . Moreover, some common taxa of freshwater and brackish habitats, such as enoplids and chromadorids, could be dispersed from the nearby coastal areas by wind, salt spray or sea foam . Although nematode composition and abundance are known to be closed related to the lakes trophic state and related sediment characteristics , in the present study, all coastal lakes can be classified as oligotrophic, with bottoms composed of clean sandy sediments and very low total organic content (<0.5%). Our results indicated that the nematode assemblages of coastal lakes are primarily structured by the intrinsic properties within each lake and to a possible limited dispersion ability of nematodes between lakes.