AQ
Type of resources
Keywords
Publication year
Scale
Topics
-
An integrated analysis of geoscience information and benthos data have been used to identify seafloor habitats and associated benthic communities in the near-shore environment of the Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica. A multibeam echo-sounder was used to collect high-resolution bathymetry of the seafloor to depths of 215 m. A towed underwater video was used to identify macrobenthos along 16 transects. Abiotic variables including depth, backscatter intensity, substrate, slope, seafloor features (e.g. iceberg scours, sand ripples) and latitude were extracted from the multibeam and video datasets. Multivariate analysis of the benthos data was used to identify discrete benthic communities within the study area. Analysis of bio-physical relationships indicates that these benthic communities occur within distinct geographical regions and seafloor habitats. The habitats are distinguished primarily on the basis of depth and substrate. The two dominant seafloor habitats and associated benthic communities are: 1) deep, muddy basins with low to medium biological cover, consisting predominantly of bivalves, urchins, and seapens; and 2) shallow rocky outcrops, typically covered in dense macroalgae communities and associated invertebrates such as amphipods, spirorbid polychaetes and holothurians. In between are transition zones which provide habitat to mixed benthic communities. This study demonstrates the efficacy of using multibeam systems to survey large areas of the seafloor and collect high-resolution baseline data across previously unexplored regions. This baseline data is critical to improve our understanding of ecosystem dynamics and the relationships between biota and habitats and allows managers to make informed decisions about the effects of different activities on marine habitats.
-
Legacy product - no abstract available
-
Legacy product - no abstract available
-
Legacy product - no abstract available
-
Legacy product - no abstract available
-
Biosiliceous sediments sampled from a submarine valley system on the continental shelf of East Antarctica contain intervals of ripple cross-lamination interspersed with massively bedded units. Based on radiocarbon dates from one core collected on the Mac.Robertson Shelf, the most intensely cross-laminated sediments were deposited between 6 000 and 3 500 years before the present, with isolated cross-laminae deposited at other times in the Holocene.
-
Legacy product - no abstract available
-
Legacy product - no abstract available
-
Legacy product - no abstract available
-
Legacy product - no abstract available