parks victoria technical series marine natural values study vol 2 ...
parks victoria technical series marine natural values study vol 2 ...
parks victoria technical series marine natural values study vol 2 ...
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Parks Victoria Technical Series No. 79<br />
Flinders and Twofold Shelf Bioregions Marine Natural Values Study<br />
Table 22. Summary of the number of species in major biotic groups from surveys in Cape Howe<br />
Marine National Park.<br />
Biotic group<br />
Number of species<br />
Macrophytes 59<br />
Green algae 3<br />
Brown algae 13<br />
Red algae 39<br />
Seagrasses 4<br />
Invertebrates 57<br />
Decapod crustaceans 14<br />
Chitons 1<br />
Gastropods 27<br />
Sea slugs 3<br />
Cephalopods 1<br />
Echinoderms 11<br />
Vertebrates 124<br />
Fish 40<br />
Birds 63<br />
Reptiles 5<br />
Mammals 6<br />
Intertidal<br />
Soft sediment<br />
As noted by Plummer et al. (2003) no specific data on the biota on sandy beaches are<br />
available in the MNP or nearby. Intertidal soft sediment flora is restricted to macroalgae drift<br />
and macroalgal epiphytes. Beach-washed materials in sandy beach habitats are a significant<br />
source of food for many shore birds, and contribute to the detrital cycle that nourishes many<br />
of the invertebrates, such as bivalves, living in the sand (Parks Victoria 2006c).<br />
Reef<br />
Rocky intertidal reefs, also called rocky reefs or intertidal platforms, are generally found in<br />
Victoria on and near headlands with stretches of sandy beaches either side. Along with<br />
beaches, intertidal reefs are one of the most accessible components of the <strong>marine</strong><br />
environment as they are the interface between the ocean and the land (Power and Boxshall<br />
2007). As such they are valued as important habitats by people and tend to be visited more<br />
than other sections of the coast (Carey et al. 2007a; Carey et al. 2007b). This means they<br />
are often subjected to human pressures like harvesting, fossicking and trampling as well as<br />
pressures from pollution sources on land and in the sea (Power and Boxshall 2007).<br />
Intertidal reef biota are exposed to large changes in physical conditions such as temperature<br />
and desiccation. There is great spatial and temporal variability in the life histories of the<br />
organisms and the environmental processes in reef habitats (Underwood and Chapman<br />
2004). The recruitment of new biota onto the reef, from the plankton, strongly influences the<br />
ecological patterns for individual species and assemblages. Interactions between biota on<br />
the reef also influence biota distribution. Resources which are often in short supply on<br />
intertidal reefs are space on which to live and the food itself (Underwood and Chapman<br />
2004). The remote location of the MNP means that human threats to the intertidal reef such<br />
as biota collection and trampling is low, due to this there is has been no intertidal reef<br />
monitoring program in Cape Howe MNP.<br />
Macroalgae and Aggregating Sessile Invertebrates<br />
The dominant intertidal algae in Cape Howe MPA are sea lettuce Ulva australis, neptune’s<br />
necklace Hormosira banksii and various coralline red algae (Plummer et al. 2003). The bull<br />
76