Habitats and benthos at Hydrographers Passage, Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Other Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Beaman, Robin J.;Bridge, Thomas;Done, Terry;Webster, Jody M.;Williams, Stefan;Pizarro, Oscar
Abstract

Hydrographers Passage lies on the shelf-edge of the central Great Barrier Reef in north-eastern Australia. The survey location is approximately 800 km2 in area and ranges in depth from 14 m to 300 m. The mapped geomorphic features (>1 km) include a broader-scale slope, terrace and platform, with smaller reefs and dune features. Sediment grabs from two cross-shelf transects show a generally similar composition of poorly-sorted, muddy sand and iron stained carbonate gravel. In contrast, dune sediments are a well-sorted sand with no iron staining. Images from two AUV transects provide the data for a hierarchical clustering of substrate types into five substrate groups: sand, gravel, rubble, sediment-covered limestone; and reef. The AUV imagery reveals a clear distinction between the benthos associated with hard substrates and soft substrate habitats at a finer-scale than can be shown within the broader-scale geomorphic features. Maximum entropy modelling is used to generate a habitat preference map for azooxanthellate, filter-feeding octocorals.

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Seafloor Geomorphology as Benthic Habitat: GeoHab atlas of seafloor geomorphic features and benthic habitats

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978-0-12-385140-6

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10

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Elsevier

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London, England

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DOI

10.1016/B978-0-12-385140-6.00029-3