Emergent fauna from hard surfaces on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Kramer, M.J.;Bellwood, D.R.;Bellwood, O.

Abstract

The community composition of a coral reef emergent fauna was quantified on Orpheus Island, Great Barrier Reef. Emergence traps deployed over hard surfaces revealed a wide diversity of organisms, spanning eight different phyla, of which Crustacea were particularly abundant. Within the Crustacea, harpacticoid copepods were the most common (24 ± 2 ind. 100 cm–2, mean ± s.e.). The composition of the emergent fauna differed markedly from previous descriptions of the cryptofauna in the epilithic algal matrix. Furthermore, the emergent fauna was two orders of magnitude less abundant than their benthic counterparts. Our results point to a limited trophic link between the benthos and the overlying nocturnal plankton assemblage.

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Marine and Freshwater Research

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1448-6059

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CSIRO

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DOI

10.1071/MF12284