New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research abstracts
Fish species composition on seamounts and adjacent slope in New Zealand
waters
D. M. Tracey
B. Bull
M. R. Clark
K. A. Mackay
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric
Research Limited
Private Bag 14 901, Kilbirnie
Wellington, New Zealand
email: d.tracey@niwa.co.nz
Abstract Datasets from deep-water fisheries abundance
surveys on the commercially important species-orange roughy (Hoplostethus
atlanticus), smooth oreo (Pseudocyttus maculatus), and black oreo
(Allocyttus niger) -were used to compare fish fauna between seamounts
in 10 different parts of the New Zealand region. For five of these areas,
fauna was also compared between the seamounts and nearby areas of the relatively
flat slope. Dominant species were listed for each area. Diversity was compared
between seamount complexes, and between seamount and slope areas. Differences
between the species taken in different seamount areas were investigated using
similarity analysis. Total species richness was similar in all seamount regions,
but mean species richness was found to be much higher in southern areas.
Species richness was consistently higher on the relatively flat slope than
on seamounts. Five seamount areas south of 41°S were found to have similar
fish fauna, as compared with three seamount areas north of 41°S which
were different from the southern areas and from each other.
Keywords deep sea; seamounts; slope; deep-water fish;
diversity, distribution; species richness
M03045; Online publication date 15 March 2004; Received 11 August 2003;
accepted 22 October 2003
New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 2004, Vol. 38:
163-182
0028-8330/04/3801-0163 © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2004
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