Oecologia

, Volume 146, Issue 2, pp 279–286 | Cite as

Nonlinear multivariate models of successional change in community structure using the von Bertalanffy curve

  • Marti J. Anderson
  • Russell B. Millar
  • Wilma M. Blom
  • Carol E. Diebel
Community Ecology
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:

Abstract

von Bertalanffy curves were used to describe the nonlinear relationship between assemblages inhabiting holdfasts of the kelp Ecklonia radiata and the volume of the holdfast. This was done using nonlinear canonical analyses of principal coordinates (NCAP). The volume of the holdfast is a proxy for the age of the plant and, thus, the canonical axis is a proxy for succession in the marine invertebrate community inhabiting the holdfast. Analyses were done at several different taxonomic resolutions on the basis of various dissimilarity measures. Assemblages in relatively large holdfasts demonstrated ongoing variation in community structure with increasing volume when the dissimilarity used was independent of sample size. Smaller holdfasts had proportionately greater abundances of ophiuroids and encrusting organisms (bryozoans, sponges, ascidians), while larger holdfasts were characterised by proportionately greater abundances of crustaceans, polychaetes and molluscs. Such linear and nonlinear multivariate models may be applied to analyse system-level responses to the growth of many habitat-forming organisms, such as sponges, coral reefs, coralline algal turf or forest canopies.

Keywords

Biodiversity Community composition Kelp holdfast assemblages Marine invertebrates Succession 
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Notes

Acknowledgements

This study was funded through Marsden fund contract no. UOA109 to M.J. Anderson and C. Diebel. We thank the staff at the Auckland War Memorial Museum and the Leigh Marine Laboratory for their support. Assistance with field collections was provided by K. Bloxham, R. Dixon, C. Galpin, T. Landers, A. Rapson, T. Ross-Watt, J. Saunders and T. Willis. We also thank M. Kelly-Shanks and D. Gordon from the National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA) for their assistance with the identification of sponges and bryozoans, respectively. Taxonomic libraries of the specimens from this study are housed in the Marine Biology section at the Auckland War Memorial Museum and also at the Leigh Marine Laboratory. Substantial improvements to the manuscript were made after comments made by J. Oksanen and one anonymous reviewer. Experiments done and described herein comply fully with the current laws of New Zealand.

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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag 2005

Authors and Affiliations

  • Marti J. Anderson
    • 1
  • Russell B. Millar
    • 1
  • Wilma M. Blom
    • 2
  • Carol E. Diebel
    • 3
  1. 1.Department of StatisticsUniversity of AucklandAucklandNew Zealand
  2. 2.Auckland War Memorial MuseumMarine Biology CollectionsAucklandNew Zealand
  3. 3.Curator of Marine Biology CollectionsAuckland War Memorial MuseumAucklandNew Zealand

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