Describing and predicting the spatial distribution of benthic biodiversity in the sub-Antarctic and Antarctic ...

• Main Author: Hibberd, T
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: University Of Tasmania 2023
• Subjects: Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.25959/23240141; https://figshare.utas.edu.au/articles/thesis/Describing_and_predicting_the_spatial_distribution_of_benthic_biodiversity_in_the_sub-Antarctic_and_Antarctic/23240141

The global imperative to sustainably manage deep-sea bottom fisheries and mitigate impacts to benthic habitats is constrained by the limited existing biological data available to inform decisionmaking. Physical surrogacy, where benthic biodiversity is characterised based on its relationship with environmental parameters, was explored as a means of extrapolating the distribution and biomass of benthic species from sample sites to seascapes of the deep-sea. The evaluation of surrogates focused on those benthic species considered most susceptible to disturbance from bottom fishing gears including sponges and corals (termed 'vulnerable taxa') and data from the sub-Antarctic Heard and McDonalds Islands (HIMI) region. HIMI hosts an established bottom fishery with protection for biodiversity afforded through a large marine protected area (MPA). However whether the MPA meets CAR principles (comprehensive, adequate and representative) in the context of vulnerable taxa remains largely unknown due to a limited ...