Small-scale species richness of the Great Barrier Reef tanaidaceans—results of the CReefs compared with worldwide diversity of coral reef tanaidaceans
Stepien, A.; Pabis, K.; Blazewicz, M. (2019). Small-scale species richness of the Great Barrier Reef tanaidaceans—results of the CReefs compared with worldwide diversity of coral reef tanaidaceans. Mar. Biodiv. 49(3): 1169-1185. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12526-018-0894-5
In: Marine Biodiversity. Springer: Heidelberg; Berlin. ISSN 1867-1616; e-ISSN 1867-1624, more
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| Keywords |
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| Author keywords |
CoML; CReefs; Great Barrier Reef |
| Authors | | Top |
- Stepien, A.
- Pabis, K.
- Blazewicz, M.
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| Abstract |
The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is considered to be one of the most important marine biodiversity hotspots on Earth. At the same time, knowledge on the smallest inhabitants of this habitat is extremely scarce, which is particularly apparent with respect to small peracarid crustaceans of the order Tanaidacea. Prior to this study, as few as 20 tanaidacean species had been reported from Australian coral reefs, this study yielding 56 species new to science. Our analysis of a high number of qualitative samples collected at two GBR sites (Heron and Lizard Islands) from a depth range of 0 to about 30 m in the framework of the Census of Coral Reef Ecosystem program (one of the Census of Marine Life-related projects) almost doubled the total number of coral reef-associated tanaidacean species known worldwide. Altogether, 60 species (distributed among 7622 individuals) were identified, 46 and 41 species being recorded on Heron and Lizard Islands, respectively. The tanaidaceans were dominated by members of the families Leptocheliidae (8 species and more than half of all specimens at both sites) and Metapseudidae (11 species, 6 and 3% of individuals, respectively). The most speciose genera were Pseudoapseudomorpha (4 species), Paradoxapseudes, Parapseudes, Pugiodactylus, and Zeuxo (3 species each). Most species were rare, their frequency of occurrence in samples not exceeding 15%. The species accumulation curves did not reach the asymptote. |
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