scholarly journals Cryptic invertebrates on subtidal rocky reefs vary with microhabitat structure and protection from fishing

2013 ◽  
Vol 481 ◽  
pp. 93-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
TJ Alexander
2001 ◽  
Vol 52 (6) ◽  
pp. 853 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. D. O'Hara

Habitats defined by various biological and environmental variables are increasingly assumed to be surrogates for biodiversity. This study tested this assumption for temperate subtidal rocky reefs off south-eastern Australia by investigating the consistency of floral and faunal macrobenthic assemblages within habitats defined by dominant vegetation, substratum lithology, depth, wave exposure and region. Taxonomic groups included seagrasses, rhodophytes, chlorophytes, phaeophytes, hydroids, bryozoans, molluscs, polychaetes, pycnogonids and echinoderms. The results from multivariate statistical analyses indicated that, although variation between replicate samples is high, habitats as defined by dominant vegetation and, to a lesser extent, region supported consistent floral and faunal assemblages. The patterns did not emphasize a broad-scale biogeographic gradient, but rather the environmental heterogeneity of the coastline at scales of 10–100 km.


2018 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. e12471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia H. Coates ◽  
Kenneth Schiff ◽  
Raphael D. Mazor ◽  
Daniel J. Pondella ◽  
Rebecca Schaffner ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Mauricio F. Landaeta ◽  
Valentina Nowajewski ◽  
Lissette D. Paredes ◽  
Claudia A. Bustos

AbstractThe early life history traits of the labrisomid blenny Auchenionchus crinitus (Jenyns, 1842) from subtidal rocky reefs were studied, based on microstructure analysis of sagittae of their pelagic larvae (4.01 mm NL −12.50 mm SL). Ichthyoplankton was collected in shallow (<20 m) nearshore waters off Isla Santa María, Antofagasta, northern Chile every 15 days during austral autumn–winter 2014 (five sampling days). During late May and early June, larval abundance was low (median ± MAD, 39.06 ± 5.08 ind. 100 m−3), increasing significantly during mid-June to early August (110.98 ± 47.66 ind. 100 m−3). Using 354 sagittae, the back-calculated hatch dates indicated the occurrence of three hatching events, two in autumn and one in winter. Hatching occurred mainly during the illuminated phases of the lunar cycle. All three batches had similar estimated larval sizes at hatch (3.2–3.7 mm SL), as well as similar growth rates (0.19–0.22 mm day−1) during the first 30 days of life. During the study period, shallow waters were well mixed, with seawater temperature of 14.73 ± 0.58°C and salinity of 34.84 ± 0.04. This is the first estimation of early life history traits of this cryptobenthic species from rocky reefs of Chile.


Author(s):  
Marcelo Checoli Mantelatto ◽  
Lélis Antonio Carlos-Júnior ◽  
Carolina Côrrea ◽  
Carlos Ferreira de Lima Cardoso ◽  
Joel Christopher Creed

2019 ◽  
pp. 190-213
Author(s):  
Lisandro Benedetti-Cecchi ◽  
Laura Airoldi ◽  
Fabio Bulleri ◽  
Simonetta Fraschetti ◽  
Antonio Terlizzi

Ecology ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 88 (10) ◽  
pp. 2455-2461 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Balata ◽  
Luigi Piazzi ◽  
Lisandro Benedetti-Cecchi

2008 ◽  
Vol 59 (8) ◽  
pp. 661 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mateus de A. Baronio ◽  
Daniel J. Bucher

Reef cryptofauna (animals inhabiting cracks and crevices) represent much of a reef’s biodiversity yet are seldom studied owing to their inaccessibility. Subtidal rocky reefs off Brunswick Heads and Byron Bay in northern New South Wales, Australia support benthic communities ranging from coral-dominated offshore reefs to kelp beds of Ecklonia radiata on inshore reefs. It was hypothesised that differential exposure to river discharge and the East Australian Current, as well as proximity to other reef habitats, may produce differences in recruitment and persistence of cryptofauna between superficially similar reefs within a small geographical range. Artificial crevice habitats were deployed at similar depths on three inshore reefs supporting similar Ecklonia densities. Although the species richness of crevice fauna was similar at all reefs, the species composition differed significantly along with the assemblages recruited in different seasons and to different crevice sizes. Neither reef faunas nor that of varying crevice sizes changed consistently with the seasons, yet all crevices appeared equally accessible to colonists. These results demonstrate the potential inadequacy of classifying reef communities for management of regional biodiversity based on the visual dominance of a few species that may not be as sensitive to environmental variables as many of the less obvious taxa.


2007 ◽  
Vol 58 (9) ◽  
pp. 843 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn L. Newton ◽  
Bob Creese ◽  
David Raftos

Spatial and temporal patterns of variability in ascidian assemblages were investigated on horizontal subtidal rocky reefs at Port Stephens, New South Wales (NSW). The study was designed to provide a baseline dataset on ascidian diversity and distribution patterns for an area destined to become a marine park (the Port Stephens–Great Lakes Marine Park: PSGLMP). Differences in ascidian assemblages between exposed oceanic island reefs and sheltered reefs within Port Stephens, and between two depth zones within each subtidal reef, were quantified using non-parametric multivariate techniques coupled with analysis of variance (ANOVA). Ascidian assemblages were highly variable between reef sites, reef exposures and particularly between depth zones within each reef surveyed. However, temporal variation was only observed for a few ascidian species. These highly variable spatial patterns in diversity indicate that numerous subtidal reefs may need to be protected within PSGLMP if the aim of the marine park is to adequately represent the entire array of marine biodiversity in the area.


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