The distance-based RDA ordination (Fig 7) indicated that the first two axes explained 30.5% of the variability in the faunal data and 81.1% of the relationship between nematode genera and the environmental variables (Fig 7). The first axis (responsible for 68.4% of the fitted model relating the fauna-environmental variables) was strongly related to salinity, and represented the connectivity gradient from the closed to the permanently open lagoons. The second axis, responsible for 12.7%, was related to sediment sorting, silt and carbonate percentages, and represented the variation within the lagoons.