An assessment of proposed Marine Protected Areas in East Antarctica: A Geoscience perspective (GeoHab conference, 5-9 May 2014)  

Authors / CoAuthors

Post, A. | Wilson, O. | O'Brien, P.E.

Abstract

In 2010, a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) was proposed for the East Antarctic region. This proposal was based on the best available data, which for the benthic regime consisted chiefly of seabed geomorphology and satellite bathymetry data. Case studies from the East Antarctic region indicate that depth and morphology are important factors in delineating marine benthic communities, particularly on the continental shelf. However, parameters such as sediment composition also show a strong association with the distribution and diversity of benthic assemblages. A better assessment of the nature of benthic habitats within the proposed MPA network is now possible with the incorporation of a compilation of sediment properties and higher resolution bathymetry grids across the East Antarctic region (see Figures A and B). Based on these physical properties, and in combination with the seabed morphology, we can now distinguish a range of distinct habitats, such as deep muddy basins, scoured sandy shelf banks, ruggedly eroded slope canyons and muddy deep sea plains. In this presentation, we assess the types of benthic habitats across the East Antarctic region, and then determine how well the proposed MPA network represents the diversity of habitats across this margin. The diversity of physical environments within the proposed MPAs suggests that they likely support a diverse range of benthic communities which are broadly representative of the surrounding region.

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nonGeographicDataset

eCat Id

79061

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Keywords

• External PublicationAbstract

( Theme )

• Antarctic data

( Theme )

• antarctica

( Theme )

• environmental

( Theme )

• marine biodiversity

• AAT

Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)

• Environmental Science and Management

• Published_Internal

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2014-01-01T00:00:00

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geoscientificInformation

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[-66.0, -60.0, 30.0, 160.0]

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