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Report
Benthic communities in soft-sediment and on natural hard habitats
Benthic Habitats and Communities WASMI Westport Marine Science Program
Western Australian Marine Science Institution
2025
Abstract
Sheltered coastal waters such as Cockburn Sound (CS) support diverse assemblages of fauna. Benthic invertebrates (including infauna that live within soft sediments and epifauna living on top of soft and hard substrates) provide a range of ecological functions, including acting as a direct food source for key fisheries species and modifying habitats through their grazing and bioturbation. Thus, providing contemporary data on the abundances, diversity and assemblage structure of these invertebrates is important for Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), such as that for the proposed Westport development in Cockburn Sound. This project focused on characterising invertebrate communities of various sizes in the soft sediments and hard substrates of shallow (10 m) and deeper (10 m) regions of CS and Owen Anchorage (OA) to provide a current record of the invertebrates that utilize the area. This project formed part of the WAMSI Westport Marine Science Program (WWMSP) under the Benthic Habitat and communities theme. Specifically, this study aimed to: (1) determine the general spatiotemporal trends of unvegetated, soft-sediment and hard substrate invertebrate communities throughout CS and OA; (2) identify the environmental variables important in driving these spatiotemporal trends; and (3) characterize the unique invertebrate communities that occur spatially in the study area.
Details
- Title
- Benthic communities in soft-sediment and on natural hard habitats
- Authors/Creators
- Sorcha Cronin-O'Reilly - Murdoch University, School of Environmental and Conservation SciencesGlenn Hyndes - Edith Cowan UniversityZoe Richards - Western Australian MuseumHenry CarrickAndrew Hosie - Western Australian MuseumLisa Kirkendale - Western Australian MuseumAna HaraOliver Gomez - Western Australian MuseumCorey WhissonBen Roots - Murdoch UniversityDanielle JohnstonJames Tweedley - Murdoch University, School of Environmental and Conservation Sciences
- Publication Details
- Benthic Habitats and Communities WASMI Westport Marine Science Program
- Publisher
- Western Australian Marine Science Institution
- Grants
- Westport: Theme 2: Benthic Communities and Habitats - Hard substrates, 20495, General
- Identifiers
- 991005885754107891
- Murdoch Affiliation
- School of Environmental and Conservation Sciences
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Report
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