New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research abstracts

---

Soft-bottom macrobenthic communities of Manukau Harbour, New Zealand

K. R. Grange

N.Z. Oceano'graphic Institute, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, P.O. Box 12-346, Wellington North, New Zealand

Abstract A survey of the macrobenthos at 42 stations in the channels and subtidal sandflats in Manukau Harbour, Auckland, revealed four biotic associations; although referred to as communities, they are not equivalent to Peterson-type communities since they are not particularly discrete and there is some overlap in species composition. The similarity in species between stations was measured by percentage similarity coefficients using Jaccard's coefficient for presence-absence data and Czekanowski's coefficient for log-transformed quantitative data. Stations were grouped in dendrograms by group-average sorting which allowed re-arrangement of the similarity matrices into trellis diagrams.

Dominant species in each of the four groups of stations were ranked by calculating a 'community score' for each, based on its abundance, fidelity, and bioindex value within the group. Each of the four groups was found to support a unique group of species and these are considered as representing four communities. Two indicator species in each community were identified from the highest community scores: Group 1, the Microcosmus/Nolomithrax community — associated with a coarse sediment of dead bivalve shells and small rocks in shallow water. It has high species diversity indices; Group 2, the Halicarcinus/Bugula community— associated with a relatively coarse sediment of dead shells, grit, and little sand in deep water in the main channels; Group 3, theAmalda/Myadora community—associated with fine sand with mud or shell grit in shallow parts of the channels; and Group 4, the Fellaster/ Pagurus community — associated with ironsand in shallow water in the outer harbour. It has low species diversity indices.

New Zealand Journal of Marine & Freshwater Research, 1979, 13 (3): 315-329
Received 11 December 1978; revision received 13 March 1979

PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (1514K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)

---

This year's abstracts | Journal home page | All abstracts | Publishing home page