New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research abstracts

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INTERTIDAL SAND-DWELLING PERACARID FAUNA OF NORTH ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND

A. A. FlNCHAM

Department of Zoology, British Museum (Natural History), Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, England

Abstract Substrate and infauna samples were taken at four tidal levels (mean high water springs, high mid beach, low mid beach, and mean low water neaps) with a 0.0625 m2 quadrat at 14 North Island beaches in New Zealand. The distributions of Peracarida (Crustacea) were correlated with sediment type, tidal height, and degree of exposure; sampling began in March 1972 and was completed in November 1973. Substrate samples were sieved and median diameter of the particles ranged from very coarse sand of - 0.60^ to very fine sand of + 3.2596. Substrates were variously sorted: 0 quartile deviation ranged from 0.140 to O.660, skewness from - 0.080 to + 0.070. The results are compared with data from Stewart Island beaches, and the bio-geographical distributions of recorded Peracarida are discussed. An unexpectedly high degree of endemism exists for a warm-temperate region, caused by the isolation of New Zealand, which has no direct shallow water contact with tropical or cold temperate regions.

N.Z. Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 11 (4) : 677-96.
Received 27 January 1977; revision received 16 August 1977.

PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (1247K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)

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