The biogeography of shallow-water macrofauna at Heard Island

• Published in: Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania
• Main Authors: Edgar, GJ, Burton, HR
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2000
• Subjects: Royal Society of Tasmania; RST; Van Diemens Land; natural history; science; ecology; taxonomy; botany; zoology; geology; geography; papers & proceedings; Australia; UTAS Library; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Kerguelen; Heard Island; Kerguelen Island; Antarc*; Antarctica; Macquarie Island
• Online Access: https://eprints.utas.edu.au/13597/; https://eprints.utas.edu.au/13597/4/2000_Edgar_The_Biogeography_rst.pdf

Collections of 23 macroinvertebrate taxa associated with Durvillaea antarctica holdfasts and 58 invertebrate taxa associated with artificial substrata collectors are described from shallow-water and intertidal habitats at Heard Island. The fauna sampled possessed strong biogeographic affinities with the Kerguelen Island fauna and, to a slightly lesser extent, the fauna recorded at Macquarie Island but negligible affinity with the Antarctic. Experiments involving the offshore tethering of D. antarctica holdfasts indicated that epifaunal invertebrates rapidly abandoned detached holdfasts, but that the few species surviving after one day could probably survive long periods adrift.