Condition of rocky reef communities around Tasmania: algal surveys
The data is the percent algal cover derived from underwater visual census methods involving transect counts at rocky reef sites around Tasmania. This data forms part of a larger dataset that also surveyed fish and megafaunal invertebrate abundance for the area. The aggregated dataset allows examination of changes in Tasmanian shallow reef floral and faunal communities over a decadal scale - initial surveys were conducted in 1992-1995, and again at the same sites in 2006-2007. There are plans for ongoing surveys.
An additional component was added in the latter study - a boat ramp study looking at the proximity of boat ramps and their effects of fishing. We analysed underwater visual census data on fishes and macroinvertebrates (abalone and rock lobsters) at 133 shallow rocky reef sites around Tasmania that ranged from 0.6 - 131 km from the nearest boat ramp. These sites were not all the same as those used for the comparison of 1994 and 2006 reef communities. The subset of 133 sites examined in this component consisted of only those sites that were characterized by the two major algal (kelp) types (laminarian or fucoid dominated). Sites with atypical algal assemblages were omitted from the 196 sites surveyed in 2006.
This study aimed to examine reef community data for changes at the community level, changes in species richness and introduced species populations, and changes that may have resulted from ocean warming and fishing.
The methods are described in detail in Edgar and Barrett (1997). Primarily the data are derived from transects at 5 m depth and/or 10 m depth at each site surveyed. The underwater visual census (UVC) methodology used to survey rocky reef communities was designed to maximise detection of (i) changes in population numbers and size-structure (ii) cascading ecosystem effects associated with disturbances such as fishing, (iii) long term change and variability in reef assemblages.
Simple
Identification info
- Date (Creation)
- 2015-06-07T12:00:00
Principal investigator
Principal investigator
- Purpose
- Description of biogeographical patterns on an Australia wide scale, for understanding natural variability over time, detecting changes associated with climate change (range extensions), quantifying impacts of introduced species (e.g. Undaria); understanding and describing ecosystem effects of fishing, and describing the influence of reef based fisheries at the decade scale. The initial survey provided a detailed census of marine life for each site, and by re-examining these sites the aim is to enhance our understanding of how reef species vary over a 12-13 year time scale. These data will allow better management of rocky reef resources from increased knowledge of changes in these systems through natural and human induced events, such as introduced species outbreaks, increased fishing pressure, climate change and disturbance of marine health.
- Credit
- Natural Resource Management (NRM)
- Credit
- National Heritage Trust (NHT)
- Credit
- Stuart-Smith, Rick, Dr
- Credit
- Frusher, Stewart, Associate Professor
- Credit
- Schaap, Alex
- Status
- On going
Principal investigator
Principal investigator
Collaborator
- Spatial representation type
- Text, table
- Topic category
-
- Biota
Extent
![](https://catalogue-temperatereefbase.imas.utas.edu.au/geonetwork/srv/api/regions/geom.png?geomsrs=EPSG:4326&geom=POLYGON((148.5%20-44,148.5%20-39.5,144.5%20-39.5,144.5%20-44,148.5%20-44)))
Temporal extent
- Time period
- 1992-01-01T00:00:00 1995-01-31T00:00:00
Temporal extent
- Time period
- 2006-03-01 2007-06-26
Vertical element
- Minimum value
- 5
- Maximum value
- 10
- Identifier
- EPSG::5715
- Name
- MSL depth
- Maintenance and update frequency
- Irregular
Resource format
- Title
- Microsoft SQL Server
- Date
- Edition
- -
- Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords Version 8.0
- Keywords (Discipline)
-
- Temperate Reef
- Keywords (Theme)
-
- Percentage cover algal species
Resource constraints
- Classification
- Unclassified
Resource constraints
- Use limitation
- The data described in this record are the intellectual property of the University of Tasmania through the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies.
Resource constraints
- Linkage
-
http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/4.0/88x31.png
License Graphic
- Title
- Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
- Website
-
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License Text
- Other constraints
- Please contact the researchers when accessing the data, and please consult researchers before usage of the data, in reference to authorship.
Associated resource
- Title
- Condition of rocky reef communities around Tasmania
- Date (Creation)
- 2011-11-22T00:00:00
- Association Type
- Larger work citation
- Character encoding
- UTF8
- Supplemental Information
- Edgar, GJ, Barrett, NS, (1997). Short term monitoring of biotic change in Tasmanian marine reserves, Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 213: 261-279. Edgar GJ, Moverley J, Barrett NS, Peters D, Reed C (1997). The conservation-related benefits of a systematic marine biological sampling programme: the Tasmanian reef bioregionalisation as a case study. Biological Conservation 79: 227-240. Stuart-Smith, RD, Barrett, NS, Crawford, C, Edgar, GJ, Frusher, SD. (2008). Condition of rocky reef communities: A key marine habitat around Tasmania. NRM/NHT Report, Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute, Hobart. Stuart-Smith, RD and Barrett, NS and Crawford, C and Frusher, SD and Stevenson, DG and Edgar, GJ, ‘Spatial patterns in impacts of fishing on temperate rocky reefs: Are fish abundance and mean size related to proximity to fisher access points?’, Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 365 (2) pp. 116 - 125. ISSN 0022-0981 (2008) Stuart-Smith, RD and Barrett, NS and Stevenson, DG and Edgar, GJ, ‘Stability in temperate reef communities over a decadal time scale despite concurrent ocean warming’, Global Change Biology, 16 (1) pp. 122-134. ISSN 1365-2486 (2010)
Content Information
- Content type
- Physical measurement
- Name
- Percentage cover algal species
- Identifier
- http://vocab.nerc.ac.uk/collection/P06/current/UPCT
- Name
- Percent
- Description
- Abundance of algal species (%)
Identifier
- Code
- Abundance of biota
- Description
- Identification of algal species
Identifier
Distribution Information
- Distribution format
-
- CSV
- OnLine resource
- DATA ACCESS - all algal surveys [direct download]
- OnLine resource
- ASSOCIATED PUBLICATION - Short term monitoring of biotic change in Tasmanian marine reserves (DOI: 10.1016/S0022-0981(96)02769-4)
- OnLine resource
-
imas:MB_EXTRACT_SAMPLE_QUADRAT_MAP
MAP - Condition of rocky reef communities around Tasmania: algal surveys
- OnLine resource
-
imas:MB_EXTRACT_SAMPLE_QUADRAT_DATA
This OCG WFS service returns the data (algal surveys) for download in multiple formats, including CSV
Resource lineage
- Statement
- The underwater visual census (UVC) methodology used to survey rocky reef communities involved quantitative diver-based surveys of fishes, large mobile invertebrates and macroalgae (see below for more detail; also described by Edgar & Barrett, 1997 and Edgar et al., 1997). A total of 136 sites from 8 bioregions around Tasmania were surveyed in both 1992-1995 and 2006-2007. An additional 60 sites were either resurveyed (from sites first surveyed in 1999) or surveyed for the first time in 2006. At each site, 4 x 50m transects were laid at the 5m or 10m depth contour, and fishes, invertebrates (> 2.5 cm) and algae were recorded separately by a team of 2 - 3 divers. Details of each site, including the date and GPS location, were recorded and are available at IMAS. The methods below describe the specific survey technique for measuring algal cover: MACROALGAE:-Macroalgae were surveyed at 10 m intervals along the transect line using a 0.25 m quadrat with a grid of 7 wires crossing perpendicularly. Macroalgal cover was assessed by identifying and counting algae species that occurred directly under the 50 (49 plus one corner) grid positions. Values for each species were converted to percentage of the total values for all algal species. Algae were counted in layers, with percent cover of canopy species recorded first, then pushed aside exposing the understorey species for counting. For the boat ramp component, the UVC methods described above were used to record abundance and size structure of fishes and mobile benthic macroinvertebrates at 133 shallow reef sites around the Tasmanian coastline.
- Hierarchy level
- Dataset
- Hierarchy level
- Dataset
Platform
Identifier
- Code
- diver
Metadata
- Metadata identifier
- 75fc95bf-e4b4-4d39-9ac3-0433669648de
- Language
- English
- Character encoding
- UTF8
Point of contact
Type of resource
- Resource scope
- Dataset
- Metadata linkage
-
https://metadata.imas.utas.edu.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/75fc95bf-e4b4-4d39-9ac3-0433669648de
Point of truth URL of this metadata record
- Date info (Creation)
- 2020-08-21T13:37:21
- Date info (Revision)
- 2020-08-21T13:37:21
Metadata standard
- Title
- ISO 19115-3:2018
Overviews
Spatial extent
![](https://catalogue-temperatereefbase.imas.utas.edu.au/geonetwork/srv/api/regions/geom.png?geomsrs=EPSG:4326&geom=POLYGON((148.5%20-44,148.5%20-39.5,144.5%20-39.5,144.5%20-44,148.5%20-44)))
Provided by
![](https://catalogue-temperatereefbase.imas.utas.edu.au/geonetwork/srv/../images/logos/1bb8f09c-99d6-431f-b902-4d3e4cef02df.png)