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Nearshore marine communities at three New Zealand sub-Antarctic islands

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Abstract

The sub-Antarctic islands of New Zealand are biodiversity hotspots in the Southern Ocean, containing numerous endemic species and providing breeding grounds for seabirds and marine mammals. However, due to their remoteness and harsh environments, many of their marine ecosystems are relatively unexplored and potentially at risk from alien invasive species. To better understand nearshore marine ecosystems at three New Zealand sub-Antarctic islands (Snares Islands, Auckland Islands and Campbell Island), we sampled nektobenthic fish and mobile macroinvertebrates at 40 sites (15–20 m depth) using baited remote underwater videos (BRUVs). MaxN of each species in the videos was recorded in 5-min intervals for 45 min, allowing analyses of MaxN over the whole deployment, as well as change through time during the deployment. Species distributions appeared to reflect both the geomorphological and biogeographic traits of the islands. The Auckland Islands and Campbell Island contain large inlets dominated by mobile crustaceans, and biological trends followed gradients in marine exposure along inlets. In contrast, the Snares Islands are mostly exposed coast and contained a higher diversity of fish species common with mainland New Zealand. We suggest that differences in nearshore marine communities between these islands are likely due to the combined effects of habitat availability, biogeography, and ocean temperature.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Australasian Antarctic Expedition 2013–2014, the Australian Research Council (DE130101336, DE120102927, FL100100195, FT120100004, and DP130104156), and the University of New South Wales. Research on Auckland and Campbell Islands and The Snares was undertaken under Department of Conservation National Authorisation Number 37687-FAU. Logistic support was provided by the crew of the MV Akademik Shokalskiy. For species identifications we thank Andrew Stewart, Clive Roberts, Carl Struthers (Museum of New Zealand), and Derrick Cruz (UNSW) for assistance with fishes; and Shane Ahyong (Australian Museum) for assistance with marine invertebrates. We are grateful to Debbie Freeman from the Department of Conservation—Te Papa Atawhai (New Zealand) for helpful comments that improved the manuscript.

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Author notes

  1. Ezequiel M. Marzinelli

    Present address: School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, 2006, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia

    Graeme F. Clark, Sara Pastorino, Ezequiel M. Marzinelli & Emma L. Johnston

  2. Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    Ezequiel M. Marzinelli

  3. School of Geography, Geology and the Environment, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, UK

    Chris J. Fogwill

  4. Palaeontology, Geobiology and Earth Archives Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia

    Chris S. M. Turney

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  1. Graeme F. Clark
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Clark, G.F., Pastorino, S., Marzinelli, E.M. et al. Nearshore marine communities at three New Zealand sub-Antarctic islands. Polar Biol 42, 2193–2203 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-019-02591-4

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