Meiofauna sediment relations in leeward slope turf algae of Heron Island reef

D Logan; Kathy A Townsend; Kevin Townsend; I R Tibbetts

doi:10.1007/s10750-008-9442-9

Back

Meiofauna sediment relations in leeward slope turf algae of Heron Island reef

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Meiofauna sediment relations in leeward slope turf algae of Heron Island reef

D Logan, Kathy A Townsend, Kevin Townsend and I R Tibbetts

Hydrobiologia, Vol.610(1), pp.269-276

2008

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-008-9442-9

Files and links (1)

url

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-008-9442-9View

Published Version

Abstract

epilithic algal community

grazers

settlement

predation

vacuum sampling

Coral reef

As part of studies investigating the influence of grazers on reef meiofauna, we assessed the density, composition and richness of meiofauna (retained on a 100-μm sieve) on the leeward reef slope of Heron Reef, GBR, Australia using an airlift vacuum sampling device. Estimates of meiofauna densities ranged between 40 individuals 10 cm-2 and 290 individuals 10 cm-2, which is considerably lower than many estimates from carbonate sediments and hard substrates from other reefs and marine habitats. The 17 taxa of meiofauna were dominated by harpacticoid copepods (40%) and nematodes (32%). Varying sediment load within algal turfs explained 37% of variation of meiofauna density. A model is proposed in which increased shelter afforded by high living coral cover reduces meiofaunal losses from grazing and increases sediment loads, balanced by areas of low coral cover in which sedimentation rates are lower and grazing rates higher. At none of the four sites did major differences in abundance occur between November and March sampling events. Together these observations suggest that epilithic meiofaunal communities are generally spatially and temporally predictable at small scales in this reef system, indicating that their ecological services are similarly conservative. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Details

Title: Meiofauna sediment relations in leeward slope turf algae of Heron Island reef
Authors: D Logan (Author) - University of Queensland
Kathy A Townsend (Author) - University of Queensland
Kevin Townsend (Author) - The University of Queensland
I R Tibbetts (Author) - University of Queensland
Publication details: Hydrobiologia, Vol.610(1), pp.269-276
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Date published: 2008
DOI: 10.1007/s10750-008-9442-9
ISSN: 0018-8158
Organisation Unit: School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99450342602621
Output Type: Journal article

Metrics

273 Record Views

29 Times Cited - Web of Science

InCites Highlights

These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output

Web Of Science research areas: Marine & Freshwater Biology

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

Source: InCites