Curtin University Homepage
  • Library
  • Help
    • Admin

    espace - Curtin’s institutional repository

    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.
    View Item 
    • espace Home
    • espace
    • Curtin Research Publications
    • View Item
    • espace Home
    • espace
    • Curtin Research Publications
    • View Item

    Benthic assemblage composition on subtidal reefs along a latitudinal gradient in Western Australia

    Access Status
    Fulltext not available
    Authors
    Smale, D.
    Kendrick, G.
    Waddington, K.
    Van Niel, K.
    Meeuwig, J.
    Harvey, Euan
    Date
    2010
    Type
    Journal Article
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Citation
    Smale, D. and Kendrick, G. and Waddington, K. and Van Niel, K. and Meeuwig, J. and Harvey, E. 2010. Benthic assemblage composition on subtidal reefs along a latitudinal gradient in Western Australia. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 86 (1): pp. 83-92.
    Source Title
    Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
    DOI
    10.1016/j.ecss.2009.10.016
    ISSN
    0272-7714
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/31825
    Collection
    • Curtin Research Publications
    Abstract

    At regional scales, the distribution of species and the structure of assemblages vary with latitude within many marine and terrestrial systems. The oligotrophic coastal waters of Western Australia (WA) support highly speciose and endemic assemblages, yet spatial patterns in benthic structure are currently poorly known. We examined benthic assemblage composition along a latitudinal gradient of 28.5–33.5°S and a depth gradient of 14–62 m, on subtidal reefs in warm-temperate WA. We surveyed benthos using a remotely triggered digital stills camera. In total, we sampled macroalgae and sessile invertebrates at 201 sites spread across four locations. Percent cover of coarse taxonomic groups and dominant species was estimated from over 2000 photoquadrat samples. We recorded significant differences in benthic assemblage composition between locations, and along depth gradients within each location. However, the magnitude of change with depth was not consistent between locations, and shifts in assemblage composition along the depth gradients were not as pronounced as expected. The percent cover of all dominant benthic groupings differed between locations, and several key taxa, such as the kelp Scytothalia dorycarpa, brown foliose macroalgae, hard corals and sponges, changed predictably along the latitudinal gradient. Our study adopted a coarse taxonomic, but assemblage-wide, approach to describing macrobenthic assemblages, and clear differences between locations and depths were detected. The surveys have provided baseline data on broad scale ecosystem structure against which to detect future ecological change.

    Related items

    Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

    • Cross and long-shore variations in reef fish assemblage structure and implications for biodiversity management
      Bach, L.; Saunders, Ben; Newman, S.; Holmes, T.; Harvey, Euan (2019)
      Fish communities are an important cultural, recreational and commercial resource that also have an important role in the functioning of marine ecosystems. Around the world fish assemblages are experiencing pressures from ...
    • Peak in biomass driven by larger-bodied meso-predators in demersal fish communities between shelf and slope habitats at the head of a submarine canyon in the south-eastern Indian Ocean
      Wellington, C.; Harvey, Euan; Wakefield, Corey; Langlois, T.; Williams, A.; White, W.; Newman, Stephen (2018)
      This study investigated variations in the composition and biomass of demersal fish assemblages over a 570-metre depth gradient on the temperate, lower west coast of Australia (32° S) in the south-eastern Indian Ocean. ...
    • Habitat specialization in tropical continental shelf demersal fish assemblages
      Fitzpatrick, B; Harvey, Euan; Heyward, Andrew; Twiggs, Emily; Colquhoun, Jamie (2012)
      The implications of shallow water impacts such as fishing and climate change on fish assemblages are generally considered in isolation from the distribution and abundance of these fish assemblages in adjacent deeper waters. ...
    Advanced search

    Browse

    Communities & CollectionsIssue DateAuthorTitleSubjectDocument TypeThis CollectionIssue DateAuthorTitleSubjectDocument Type

    My Account

    Admin

    Statistics

    Most Popular ItemsStatistics by CountryMost Popular Authors

    Follow Curtin

    • 
    • 
    • 
    • 
    • 

    CRICOS Provider Code: 00301JABN: 99 143 842 569TEQSA: PRV12158

    Copyright | Disclaimer | Privacy statement | Accessibility

    Curtin would like to pay respect to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members of our community by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which the Perth campus is located, the Whadjuk people of the Nyungar Nation; and on our Kalgoorlie campus, the Wongutha people of the North-Eastern Goldfields.