An examination of the spatial and temporal generality of the influence of ecosystem engineers on rine Biology and Ecology 341 (2007) 70–84the composition of associated assemblages. Aquat. Ecol

Abstract The present study evaluated the generality of ecosystem engineering processes by examining the influence of sympatric burrowing shrimps (Callianassidae) and intertidal seagrasses (Zosteraceae) on benthic assemblage composition in two temperate regions, south-eastern New Zealand and north-western U.S.A. In each region, intertidal macrofauna assemblage composition was determined at sites of different burrowing shrimp/seagrass density and where both species co-occured, in three different size estuaries/tidal inlets, on two occasions. Results from both regions showed that the presence of shrimps and seagrasses consistently influenced the composition of the associated infaunal assemblages at all sites, in both summer and winter. Macrofauna assemblages at shrimp sites were significantly different to those at seagrass-only and mixed sites, whereas the composition of the latter sites was similar. The differences observed between sites were best explained by sediment variables. In New Zealand, % fines and seagrass debris showed the highest correlation to differences in assemblage composition, and in the U.S.A. % fines, % carbon and sediment turnover (by shrimp) appeared to be the most important environmental parameters measured. Four to six taxa exhibited the greatest discriminating significance (including corophiid amphipods, spionid polychaetes and oligochaetes) for dissimilarities in assemblage composition observed at the different sites, with generally lower abundances at shrimp than at seagrass sites. The present study highlights the functional importance of seagrasses and bioturbating shrimps as ecosystem engineers in soft-sediment environments, and reveals the generality of their influence on associated macroinvertebrate assemblages. The findings also allow for further development of a heuristic model for ecosystem engineering by shrimp and seagrass which indicate that numerical models that aim to explore the relationship between ecosystem engineer populations and habitat modification should be expanded to capture the interaction of co-occurring engineers and be both spatially and temporally explicit

Seagrass (Zostera muelleri) patch size and spatial location influence infau- nal macroinvertebrate assemblages

a b s t r a c t Seagrass landscapes are coastal environments that support diverse and abundant faunal communities. This study investigated infaunal assemblage patterns in fragmented and continuous Zostera muelleri habitat in southeastern New Zealand. Intertidal macroinvertebrate assemblages were examined in fragmented seagrass habitat (containing discrete patches varying in size from 1 to 200 m 2 ) and continuous meadows (>1000 m 2 ), in a small and a large tidal inlet. Community indices differed between seagrass habitat types and the total number of taxa was significantly lower at fragmented seagrass sites in one of the inlets. The total number of individuals and diversity were significantly different between fragmented and continuous seagrass habitat in both inlets, but diversity values showed inconsistent patterns between inlets. Multivariate analysis confirmed that different seagrass habitat types support distinct macrofaunal assemblages in each inlet and position on the shore was identified as the single most important variable explaining dissimilarities in assemblage compositions. These findings confirm the influence of seagrass habitat size on infaunal assemblages and also highlight the importance of spatial position of seagrass habitat in intertidal areas

Lugworm (Abarenicola affinis) in seagrass and unvegetated habitats

Abstract In Otago, southern New Zealand, the lugworm Abarenicola affinis resides in neighbouring tidal inlets with and without seagrass (Zostera muelleri). A comparison of abundance, body size and biomass of A. affinis between seagrass habitat (Papanui Inlet) and unvegetated habitat (Hoopers Inlet) showed little seasonal variation of these parameters in each habitat and relatively similar abundances between both habitats. In contrast, lugworm biomass was considerably lower in the seagrass habitat due to the lack of large individuals compared with unvegetated habitat. In the seagrass habitat, there was a significant negative influence of Z. muelleri below-ground biomass on abundance and biomass of A. affinis, indicating that seagrass affected lugworm burrowing and/or feeding processes. In contrast to the unvegetated habitat, where lugworms spread relatively evenly across the intertidal area, lugworms were mostly restricted to the upper intertidal zone in the seagrass habitat. The findings suggest that the extensive seagrass bed in the mid and low intertidal zones of Papanui Inlet limited lugworm distribution in an otherwise suitable habitat. Whereas small lugworms colonised seagrass areas, the largest individuals occurred only in unvegetated sediment and seemed to be more hampered by the presence of seagrass than smaller individuals. The findings highlight negative feedback between antagonistic ecosystem engineers, with the potential of seagrass physical structures (autogenic engineering) to impact negatively on lugworm activity (allogenic engineering)

Common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) bycatch in New Zealand commercial trawl fisheries.

Marine mammals are regularly reported as bycatch in commercial and artisanal fisheries, but data are often insufficient to allow assessment of these incidental mortalities. Observer coverage of the mackerel trawl fishery in New Zealand waters between 1995 and 2011 allowed evaluation of common dolphin Delphinus delphis bycatch on the North Island west coast, where this species is the most frequently caught cetacean. Observer data were used to develop a statistical model to estimate total captures and explore covariates related to captures. A two-stage Bayesian hurdle model was used, with a logistic generalised linear model predicting whether any common dolphin captures occurred on a given tow of the net, and a zero-truncated Poisson distribution to estimate the number of dolphin captures, given that there was a capture event. Over the 16-year study period, there were 119 common dolphin captures reported on 4299 observed tows. Capture events frequently involved more than one individual, with a maximum of nine common dolphin observed caught in a single tow. There was a peak of 141 estimated common dolphin captures (95% c.i.: 56 to 276; 6.27 captures per 100 tows) in 2002-03, following the marked expansion in annual effort in this fishery to over 2000 tows. Subsequently, the number of captures fluctuated although fishing effort remained relatively high. Of the observed capture events, 60% were during trawls where the top of the net (headline) was <40 m below the surface, and the model determined that this covariate best explained common dolphin captures. Increasing headline depth by 21 m would halve the probability of a dolphin capture event on a tow. While lack of abundance data prevents assessment of the impact of these mortalities on the local common dolphin population, a clear recommendation from this study is the increasing of headline depth to reduce common dolphin captures

Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis) Bycatch in New Zealand Commercial Trawl Fisheries

Abstract Marine mammals are regularly reported as bycatch in commercial and artisanal fisheries, but data are often insufficient to allow assessment of these incidental mortalities. Observer coverage of the mackerel trawl fishery in New Zealand waters between 1995 and 2011 allowed evaluation of common dolphin Delphinus delphis bycatch on the North Island west coast, where this species is the most frequently caught cetacean. Observer data were used to develop a statistical model to estimate total captures and explore covariates related to captures. A two-stage Bayesian hurdle model was used, with a logistic generalised linear model predicting whether any common dolphin captures occurred on a given tow of the net, and a zero-truncated Poisson distribution to estimate the number of dolphin captures, given that there was a capture event. Over the 16-year study period, there were 119 common dolphin captures reported on 4299 observed tows. Capture events frequently involved more than one individual, with a maximum of nine common dolphin observed caught in a single tow. There was a peak of 141 estimated common dolphin captures (95% c.i.: 56 to 276; 6.27 captures per 100 tows) in 2002-03, following the marked expansion in annual effort in this fishery to over 2000 tows. Subsequently, the number of captures fluctuated although fishing effort remained relatively high. Of the observed capture events, 60% were during trawls where the top of the net (headline) was ,40 m below the surface, and the model determined that this covariate best explained common dolphin captures. Increasing headline depth by 21 m would halve the probability of a dolphin capture event on a tow. While lack of abundance data prevents assessment of the impact of these mortalities on the local common dolphin population, a clear recommendation from this study is the increasing of headline depth to reduce common dolphin captures

Annual summary of common dolphin <i>Delphinus delphis</i> captures in the west coast North Island region.

<p>Annual summary of common dolphin <i>Delphinus delphis</i> captures in the west coast North Island region.</p

Number of common dolphin <i>Delphinus delphis</i> caught per capture event.

<p><b>A</b> Posterior distribution of the size of the zero-truncated Poisson distribution, , showing the probability density and trace of the two chains. <b>B</b> Comparison of the predicted distribution of the number of common dolphin caught per capture event between the observed captures (solid line) and samples from the model posterior (boxplots indicating the median, quartiles, and 95% confidence interval of the distributions).</p

Annual trends of fishing characteristics (covariates) for each of the seven main mackerel trawl vessels.

<p><b>A</b> Trawl effort, <b>B</b> median headline depth, <b>C</b> tow duration, <b>D</b> proportion of tows in the north, <b>E</b> proportion of tows in dark light conditions, and <b>F</b> proportion of tows in black light conditions, for fishing years between 1 October 1995 and 30 September 2011.</p

Potential covariates considered for inclusion in the model.

<p>Potential covariates considered for inclusion in the model.</p

Distribution of selected covariates for the period between 1 October 1995 and 30 September 2011.

<p><b>A</b> Headline depth, <b>B</b> tow duration, <b>C</b> light condition, and <b>D</b> sub-area. The covariates were identified as explanatory factors of common dolphin (<i>Delphinus delphis</i>) captures in the large-vessel mackerel trawl fishery off the North Island west coast, New Zealand. Total observed common dolphin captures are indicated above the bars.</p