Kelp holdfasts in the Great African Seaforest provide habitat for diverse assemblages of macroinvertebrates
Kelp forests along the southwestern and west coasts of South Africa, dominated by the species Ecklonia maxima and Laminaria pallida, are locally termed ‘the Great African Seaforest’. They form 3-dimensional biogenic habitats that provide 4 distinct microhabitats—canopy, fronds, stipe and holdfast—wi...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Inter-Research
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Aquatic Biology |
| Online Access: | https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/ab/v33/p33-45/ |
| _version_ | 1797214482623102976 |
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| author | C Katharoyan N Peer J Landschoff CL Griffiths T Samaai D Beeslaar |
| author_facet | C Katharoyan N Peer J Landschoff CL Griffiths T Samaai D Beeslaar |
| author_sort | C Katharoyan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Kelp forests along the southwestern and west coasts of South Africa, dominated by the species Ecklonia maxima and Laminaria pallida, are locally termed ‘the Great African Seaforest’. They form 3-dimensional biogenic habitats that provide 4 distinct microhabitats—canopy, fronds, stipe and holdfast—with the latter typically supporting the highest abundance and diversity of associated macroinvertebrates. The macrofauna inhabiting kelp holdfasts in South Africa have rarely been studied, resulting in a near complete lack of baseline data. In this study, macrobenthic assemblages from 40 E. maxima holdfasts were examined over 2 marine ecoregions and 4 locations. Macroinvertebrates were identified and counted for univariate and multivariate analyses using family-level data. A total of 120 families from 9 phyla were identified and were generally dominated by Arthropoda (48 families), Annelida (24 families) and Mollusca (23 families). Marine ecoregion had no significant effect on composition of macroinvertebrate assemblages, whereas location had a significant effect. There was no significant relationship between holdfast volume and macroinvertebrate diversity or abundance, suggesting that other environmental and physicochemical factors are important in determining community structure. This study serves as a baseline for future research aimed at understudied holdfast macroinvertebrate communities in the Great African Seaforest. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T11:14:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-61efec7381eb492ca1f66c0ce905d0fb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1864-7782 1864-7790 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T11:14:53Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Inter-Research |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Aquatic Biology |
| spelling | doaj.art-61efec7381eb492ca1f66c0ce905d0fb2024-04-11T09:53:34ZengInter-ResearchAquatic Biology1864-77821864-77902024-03-0133334510.3354/ab00766Kelp holdfasts in the Great African Seaforest provide habitat for diverse assemblages of macroinvertebratesC Katharoyan0N Peer1J Landschoff2CL Griffiths3T Samaai4D Beeslaar5Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South AfricaDepartment of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South AfricaDepartment of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South AfricaMarine Research Institute and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7700, South AfricaMarine Research Institute and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7700, South AfricaDepartment of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South AfricaKelp forests along the southwestern and west coasts of South Africa, dominated by the species Ecklonia maxima and Laminaria pallida, are locally termed ‘the Great African Seaforest’. They form 3-dimensional biogenic habitats that provide 4 distinct microhabitats—canopy, fronds, stipe and holdfast—with the latter typically supporting the highest abundance and diversity of associated macroinvertebrates. The macrofauna inhabiting kelp holdfasts in South Africa have rarely been studied, resulting in a near complete lack of baseline data. In this study, macrobenthic assemblages from 40 E. maxima holdfasts were examined over 2 marine ecoregions and 4 locations. Macroinvertebrates were identified and counted for univariate and multivariate analyses using family-level data. A total of 120 families from 9 phyla were identified and were generally dominated by Arthropoda (48 families), Annelida (24 families) and Mollusca (23 families). Marine ecoregion had no significant effect on composition of macroinvertebrate assemblages, whereas location had a significant effect. There was no significant relationship between holdfast volume and macroinvertebrate diversity or abundance, suggesting that other environmental and physicochemical factors are important in determining community structure. This study serves as a baseline for future research aimed at understudied holdfast macroinvertebrate communities in the Great African Seaforest.https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/ab/v33/p33-45/ |
| spellingShingle | C Katharoyan N Peer J Landschoff CL Griffiths T Samaai D Beeslaar Kelp holdfasts in the Great African Seaforest provide habitat for diverse assemblages of macroinvertebrates Aquatic Biology |
| title | Kelp holdfasts in the Great African Seaforest provide habitat for diverse assemblages of macroinvertebrates |
| title_full | Kelp holdfasts in the Great African Seaforest provide habitat for diverse assemblages of macroinvertebrates |
| title_fullStr | Kelp holdfasts in the Great African Seaforest provide habitat for diverse assemblages of macroinvertebrates |
| title_full_unstemmed | Kelp holdfasts in the Great African Seaforest provide habitat for diverse assemblages of macroinvertebrates |
| title_short | Kelp holdfasts in the Great African Seaforest provide habitat for diverse assemblages of macroinvertebrates |
| title_sort | kelp holdfasts in the great african seaforest provide habitat for diverse assemblages of macroinvertebrates |
| url | https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/ab/v33/p33-45/ |
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