Authors / CoAuthors
Post, A. | Riddle, M.J. | O'Brien, P.E. | Craven, M.
Abstract
Data from surveys along the East Antarctic margin will be presented to provide insights into the diversity and distribution of benthic communities on the continental shelf and slope, and their relationship to physical processes. Seabed video and still imagery collected from the George V shelf and slope and the sub-ice shelf environment of the Amery Ice Shelf indicate that the benthic communities in these regions are highly diverse, and are strongly associated with the physical environment. Variations in seafloor morphology, depth, sediment type and bottom circulation create distinct seabed habitats, such as muddy basins, rugged slope canyons and scoured sandy shelf banks, which are, in turn, inhabited by discrete seabed communities. The infauna dominated muddy basins contrast sharply with the diverse range of filter-feeding communities that occur in productive canyons and rugged inner shelf banks and channels. In the sub-ice shelf environment, differences in organic supply, linked to the circulation patterns, cause distinct differences in the seabed communities. The strong association between benthic communities and seafloor characteristics allows physical parameters to be used to extend our knowledge of the nature of benthic habitats into areas with little or no biological data. Comprehensive biological surveys of benthic communities in the East Antarctic region are sparse, while physical datasets for bathymetry, morphology and sediment composition are considerably more extensive. Physical data compiled within the proposed network of East Antarctic Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is used to aid our understanding of the nature of the benthic communities. The diversity of physical environments within the proposed MPAs suggests that they likely support a diverse range of benthic communities.
Product Type
nonGeographicDataset
eCat Id
79004
Contact for the resource
Custodian
Point of contact
Cnr Jerrabomberra Ave and Hindmarsh Dr GPO Box 378
Canberra
ACT
2601
Australia
Keywords
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- External PublicationAbstract
- ( Theme )
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- Antarctic data
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- AAT
- Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)
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- Marine Geoscience
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- Published_Internal
Publication Date
2014-01-01T00:00:00
Creation Date
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Purpose
Maintenance Information
asNeeded
Topic Category
environment
Series Information
Lineage
Unknown
Parent Information
Extents
[-90.0, -60.0, 45.0, 160.0]
Reference System
Spatial Resolution
Service Information
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Source data not available.