Benthic community composition of temperate mesophotic ecosystems (TMEs) in New Zealand: sponge domination and contribution to habitat complexity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Harris ◽  
SK Davy ◽  
JJ Bell
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Benthic Community ◽  
Habitat Complexity

Benthic meiofauna community composition at polluted and non-polluted sites in New Zealand intertidal environments

2007 ◽  
Vol 54 (11) ◽  
pp. 1801-1812 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa A. Hack ◽  
Louis A. Tremblay ◽  
Steve D. Wratten ◽  
Alison Lister ◽  
Vaughan Keesing
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Meiofauna Community ◽  
Polluted Sites ◽  
Intertidal Environments

scholarly journals Depth moderates loss of marine foundation species after an extreme marine heatwave: could deep temperate reefs act as a refuge?

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1928) ◽  
pp. 20200709
Author(s):  
Ana Giraldo-Ospina ◽  
Gary A. Kendrick ◽  
Renae K. Hovey
Keyword(s):  
Transition Zone ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Benthic Community ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Foundation Species ◽  
Temperate Reefs ◽  
Environmental Extremes ◽  
Deep Reefs ◽  
Clear Shift ◽  
Western Australian

Marine heatwaves (MHWs) have been documented around the world, causing widespread mortality of numerous benthic species on shallow reefs (less than 15 m depth). Deeper habitats are hypothesized to be a potential refuge from environmental extremes, though we have little understanding of the response of deeper benthic communities to MHWs. Here, we show how increasing depth moderates the response of seaweed- and coral-dominated benthic communities to an extreme MHW across a subtropical–temperate biogeographical transition zone. Benthic community composition and key habitat-building species were characterized across three depths (15, 25 and 40 m) before and several times after the 2011 Western Australian MHW to assess resistance during and recovery after the heatwave. We found high natural variability in benthic community composition along the biogeographic transition zone and across depths with a clear shift in the composition after the MHW in shallow (15 m) sites but a lot less in deeper communities (40 m). Most importantly, key habitat-building seaweeds such as Ecklonia radiata and Syctothalia dorycarpa which had catastrophic losses on shallow reefs, remained and were less affected in deeper communities. Evidently, deep reefs have the potential to act as a refuge during MHWs for the foundation species of shallow reefs in this region.

Sedentary urchins influence benthic community composition below the macroalgal zone

2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander T. Lowe ◽  
Ross Whippo ◽  
Aaron W. E. Galloway ◽  
Kevin H. Britton-Simmons ◽  
Megan N. Dethier
Keyword(s):  
Community Composition ◽  
Benthic Community

Nearshore benthic community structure at the Bounty and Antipodes Islands, Subantarctic New Zealand

Polar Biology ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 34 (10) ◽  
pp. 1485-1499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie Freeman ◽  
Sean Cooper ◽  
Greig Funnell ◽  
Don Neale
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Benthic Community ◽  
Benthic Community Structure

scholarly journals Environmental conditions and herbivore biomass determine coral reef benthic community composition: implications for quantitative baselines

Coral Reefs ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 1157-1168 ◽  
Author(s):  
James P. W. Robinson ◽  
Ivor D. Williams ◽  
Lauren A. Yeager ◽  
Jana M. McPherson ◽  
Jeanette Clark ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Benthic Community

scholarly journals The consequences of complex habitat loss for the New Zealand blue cod, Parapercis colias

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Baylee Wade
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Predation Risk ◽  
Habitat Loss ◽  
Habitat Complexity ◽  
Prey Availability ◽  
Prey Abundance ◽  
Foraging Success ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Fishery Species

<p>Climate driven threats are predicted to decrease the complexity of biogenic habitats. Within temperate coastal marine environments, we know that complex macroalgal beds support more complex communities through the provision of microhabitats and refuges. Macroalgal habitats have potential interacting benefits and costs for predators, as increased macroalgal biomass supports higher richness and diversity of prey species, but prey within these habitats might be more difficult to catch. An important New Zealand fishery species, the blue cod (Parapercis colias), is a large bodied temperate reef fish found exclusively throughout the coastal waters of New Zealand. Its dependence on subtidal coastal reef environments mean that it is important to understand how a loss of complex macroalgal habitats might alter the way that blue cod forage, and how the trade-off between prey abundance and availability will affect its abundance and productivity. This thesis aims to understand the influence of complex macroalgal habitats on P. colias prey availability and behaviour, on the foraging success of P. colias, and ultimately on P. colias population dynamics. Experiments were conducted using choice chambers to evaluate whether two alternate P. colias prey, Forsterygion lapillum and Heterozius rotundifrons, showed a preference for complex habitats with and without predation risk. Both species preferred complex habitats in the absence of predation cues, but F. lapillum showed a more consistent preference for complexity in response to predation risk. A mesocosm experiment was used to investigate whether the consumption rate and functional response of P. colias differs for these two prey types in the presence and absence of habitat complexity. Results indicated that the mobile fish prey, F. lapillum benefitted from the refuges provided by complexity and suffered lower consumption rates, whereas the sedentary crab, H. rotundifrons did not. Finally, using a simple population model, the trade-off between prey abundance and predation success on the population dynamics of P. colias with and without habitat complexity was explored. Models showed that scenarios with complex macroalgal habitats generally support more predators, and faster population growth rates than scenarios lacking habitat complexity. However, scenarios with complex habitats were predicted to be more sensitive to fishing pressure and have the potential to be more vulnerable to overexploitation. These results highlight the importance of understanding how habitat complexity mediates relationships between commercially important fishery species and their prey, in order to understand how habitat loss may alter their foraging success and population dynamics.</p>

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