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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 57(5)

Physical surrogates for macrofaunal distributions and abundance in a tropical gulf

Alexandra L. Post A C , Ted J. Wassenberg B and Vicki Passlow A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Geoscience Australia, GPO Box 378, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.

B CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, PO Box 120, Cleveland, QLD 4163, Australia.

C Corresponding author. Email: alix.post@ga.gov.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 57(5) 469-483 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF05182
Submitted: 13 September 2005  Accepted: 23 March 2006   Published: 29 June 2006

Abstract

The characterisation of benthic habitats based on their abiotic (physical and chemical) attributes remains poorly defined in the marine environment, but is becoming increasingly central in the development of marine management plans in Australia and elsewhere in the world. The current study tested this link between physical and biological datasets for the southern Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia. The results presented were based on a range of physical factors, including the sediment composition (grain size and carbonate content), sediment mobility, water depth and organic carbon flux, and their relationship to the distribution and diversity of benthic macrofauna was tested. The results reveal the importance of process-based indices, such as sediment mobility, in addition to other environmental factors in defining the distribution of the benthic macrofauna. The distribution of the benthic macrofauna changes gradationally across the south-eastern Gulf, associated with changes in the per cent mud and gravel, the seabed exposure and the water depth. Patterns of diversity also reveal the importance of physical processes such as sediment mobility in defining benthic habitats. The species–environment relationships observed at the small scale of the current study are consistent with broader associations observed for other organisms within the Gulf.

Extra keywords: benthic habitats, diversity, Gulf of Carpentaria, marine environment, sedimentary properties.


Acknowledgments

Our thanks to those who provided technical and scientific support for the voyage on RV Southern Surveyor. In particular, we thank Peter Harris (Cruise leader, Geoscience Australia), Steven Thomas and Pamela Brodie (CSIRO), Jon Stratton and Lyndon O’Grady (Geoscience Australia) and Kevin Hooper (James Cook University). Captain Neil Cheshire and the officers and crew of the RV Southern Surveyor are also thanked for their assistance during the voyage. Laboratory support was provided by Richard Brown, Tony Watson, Alex McLachlan and Neil Ramsay (Sedimentology Laboratory, Geoscience Australia). We thank Chris Bartlett (Queensland Museum) for help sorting biological material collected in the benthic sled, Bob Clarke (Plymouth Marine Laboratories) and Alan Hinde (Geoscience Australia) for statistical advice, Mark Hemer (Geoscience Australia) for access to seabed mobility data and Peter Harris (Geoscience Australia) for helpful discussions. Constructive reviews of the manuscript were provided by Ian Lavering and Phil O’Brien (Geoscience Australia) and three anomynous reviewers. ALP and VP publish with the permission of the Chief Executive Officer of Geoscience Australia.


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