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Changes in deep reef benthic community composition across a latitudinal and environmental gradient in temperate Eastern Australia
Citation
James, LC and Marzloff, MP and Barrett, N and Friedman, A and Johnson, CR, Changes in deep reef benthic community composition across a latitudinal and environmental gradient in temperate Eastern Australia, Marine Ecology - Progress Series, 565 pp. 35-52. ISSN 0171-8630 (2017) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright 2017 the Authors and IMAS. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Abstract
Deep reef assemblages in south-eastern Australia are poorly described, and have been surveyed by only a few studies conducted over small spatial scales. Here, we characterise
the composition of deep (~30-90 m depth) sessile invertebrate communities from sub-tropical
(27°S) to temperate eastern Australia (43°S). We estimated the cover of 51 preselected invertebrate
types from over 1700 seafloor images collected by an autonomous underwater vehicle from
>105 km of transects across the study region. Seafloor images were assessed using 3 alternative
schemes reflecting different resolution of benthic invertebrate groupings, including the broad-
level Collaborative and Automated Tools for Analysis of Marine Imagery project (‘CATAMI’) classification
recently developed as a generic scoring approach for seafloor imagery. Ordination using
canonical analysis of principal coordinates indicated a clear latitudinal gradient in benthic community
composition and, particularly when based on individual morphotypes, 3 distinct community
types (sub-tropical, warm temperate and cool temperate). Changes in community structure
mostly correlated with primary productivity and the temperature climatology, while local-scale
variability in community composition was most related to depth. Along with the gradual shift in
deep reef community composition across latitudes, region-specific sessile invertebrates might
serve as useful indicators of change in these deep benthic communities under future changes in
ocean climate in the region, which has been identified as a global hotspot for ocean warming. Our
methodological approach has general applicability for large-scale surveying and monitoring of
benthic communities using underwater imagery.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | Deep marine reef, autonomous underwater vehicle, AUV, benthic invertebrate, community composition, climate change |
| Research Division: | Biological Sciences |
| Research Group: | Ecology |
| Research Field: | Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) |
| Objective Division: | Environmental Policy, Climate Change and Natural Hazards |
| Objective Group: | Adaptation to climate change |
| Objective Field: | Ecosystem adaptation to climate change |
| UTAS Author: | James, LC (Ms Lainey James) |
| UTAS Author: | Marzloff, MP (Dr Martin Marzloff) |
| UTAS Author: | Barrett, N (Associate Professor Neville Barrett) |
| UTAS Author: | Johnson, CR (Professor Craig Johnson) |
| ID Code: | 115193 |
| Year Published: | 2017 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 16 |
| Deposited By: | Ecology and Biodiversity |
| Deposited On: | 2017-03-09 |
| Last Modified: | 2018-04-20 |
| Downloads: | 132 View Download Statistics |
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