Spatial variation in the community structure of intertidal habitatsat Macquarie Island (sub-Antarctic)

[摘要] The shore environments of most sub-Antarctic islands have been described in a number ofprevious studies. However, there have been few attempts to quantify the variation in population andcommunity patterns over different spatial scales. The objectives of this study were to provide an analysis ofdifferences in the community structure of the biota of three exposed shore zones and of the macrofaunainhabiting holdfasts of the kelp Durvillaea antarctica across spatial scales of hundreds of metres, kilometres,and between a sheltered and exposed coast. Data were collected using a combination of quadrat, transect anddirect sampling methods over the 1994–95 summer season. The results indicated that there were significantdifferences between coasts for some of the biotic variables in most of the habitats examined but thatdifferences at the smaller spatial scales were more often significant. Thus, although wave exposure exerts anobvious effect on the shore biota of Macquarie Island, these effects are modified by other factors operating atsmaller spatial scales. For the holdfast macrofauna, the overall patterns of community structure are likely tobe due to the differential response of the component taxa to variation in holdfast volume and holdfastsediment content as well as other, currently undetermined factors.

[学科分类] 自然科学（综合）