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Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand abstractsMacrobenthic assemblages of the continental shelf and upper slope off the west coast of South Island, New ZealandP. Keith Probert & Simon L. Grove*Benthic macrofaunal samples were taken at 30 stations on the continental shelf and upper slope (32-1120 m) off the west coast of South Island, New Zealand, southeastern Tasman Sea (c. 41-43deg. S, 169-172deg. E). The area receives a high input (increasing southward) of river-borne sediment, so fine-grained sediments characterise the shelf and uppermost slope. Most samples were dominated by polychaetes (mean of 36% of individuals), with bivalves and amphipods usually the next most abundant major taxa (mean of c. 10-11% of individuals). Polychaetes, molluscs and peracarid crustaceans together accounted for c. 77% of species collected. Four main station groups were identified by multivariate analysis: (1) 4 stations at 32-51 m on silty sand characterised by Sthenelais cf. chathamensis, Nephtys sp., Aglaophamus macroura, Paraprionospio sp., Ampharete kerguelensis, Diplocirrus sp. (all Polychaeta), Austrofusus glans (Gastropoda) and Maorimactra ordinaria (Bivalvia); (2) 12 stations at 87-297 m on sandy mud characterised by Aglaophamus verrilli, Lumbrineris ?brevicirra, Paraprionospio coora, Diplocirrus sp. (all Polychaeta), Poroleda lanceolata (Bivalvia) and Ampelisca chiltoni (Amphipoda); (3) 3 stations at 195-248 m on sand at the northern end of the study area where characterising species were Otionella affinis (free-living Bryozoa) and Chloeia inermis (Polychaeta); and (4) 10 stations at 477-1120 m on sandy mud where good discriminators were Apseudes diversus (Tanaidacea) and Ophiozonella stellamaris (Ophiuroidea). Mean biomass estimates for the four station groups were 79, 40, 35, and 6 g wet wt m-2 respectively. Ordination of polychaete genera indicated similarities between shallow (< 500 m water depth) west coast samples and directly comparable samples from the Chatham Rise east of the South Island, whereas deeper (> 500 m) west coast samples were more disparate.Keywords: benthos; fauna; assemblages; biomass; continental shelf; continental slope; bathyal; New Zealand; South Island; Tasman Sea; Chatham Rise
(c) Journal of The Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 28, Number 2, June 1998, pp 259-280
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