Rhodolith Beds in Northern New Zealand: Characterisation of Associated Biodiversity

The ecology of subtidal rhodolith beds has been investigated for the first time in New Zealand, characterising two rhodolith species, Lithothamnion crispatum and Sporolithon durum, examining the structure and physical characteristics of beds at two locations and documenting their associated biodiversity. Site and characteristics: Field work was conducted in the Bay of Islands, at Kahuwhera Bay and Te Miko Reef, in February and September 2010. The rhodolith beds were mapped using a combination of techniques and the physical characteristics of the habitats were assessed and compared with adjacent areas outside the rhodolith beds. The rhodolith beds differed significantly in terms of water motion, sediment characteristics and light levels, with Te Miko Reef having characteristics regarded as typical of rhodolith assemblages, and Kahuwhera Bay being atypical with respect to sediments and water clarity. The Te Miko Reef bed was in clear water and rhodoliths were clearly visible sitting on top of the substrate in a more or less single layer over rhodolith- and shell-derived gravel, whereas at Kahuwhera Bay there were fine sediments suspended in the water column and covering rhodoliths and associated biota, and live rhodoliths were in a more or less single layer overlaying grey to blackened rhodoliths in a darkly coloured rhodolith/sediment sublayer. The two rhodolith beds differed in current direction and strength with no clear tidal signal or direction of water motion at Kahuwhera Bay and tidally driven water movement at Te Miko Reef with a dominant northwest flow. This Rhodolith Beds in Northern New Zealand: Characterisation of Associated Biodiversity dataset is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 New Zealand Licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/nz/. If you publish, distribute, or otherwise disseminate this work to the public without adapting it, the following attribution to MPI should be used: “Source: Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and licensed by MPI for re-use under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand licence." If you adapt this work in any way or include it in a collection, and publish, distribute, or otherwise disseminate that adaptation or collection to the public, the following attribution to MPI should be used: "This work is based on/includes MPI’s data which are licensed by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) for re-use under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 New Zealand licence."

本研究首次对新西兰潮下带红藻结球体（rhodolith）床的生态特征展开调查，完成了两项红藻结球体物种的鉴定：卷曲石枝藻（Lithothamnion crispatum）与坚硬孢石藻（Sporolithon durum），并对两处采样点的红藻结球体床结构与物理特征开展分析，同时记录其伴生生物多样性。
研究区域与特征：野外调查工作于2010年2月与9月在新西兰群岛湾的卡赫韦拉湾（Kahuwhera Bay）与特米科礁（Te Miko Reef）开展。研究团队采用多技术结合的方式对红藻结球体床进行测绘，并对其生境的物理特征展开评估，同时与红藻结球体床周边区域进行对比。
两处红藻结球体床在水动力条件、沉积物特征与光照水平方面均存在显著差异：特米科礁的生境特征被认为是红藻结球体群落的典型代表，而卡赫韦拉湾在沉积物与水体透明度方面则表现出非典型性。特米科礁的红藻结球体床位于清澈水体中，红藻结球体清晰可见，以近乎单层的状态覆盖于红藻与贝壳碎屑砾石之上；而卡赫韦拉湾的水体中悬浮有细粒沉积物，这些沉积物覆盖了红藻结球体及其伴生生物，活的红藻结球体同样以近乎单层的状态覆盖于灰色至黑化的红藻结球体之上，形成深色的红藻结球体/沉积物亚层。
两处红藻结球体床的水流方向与强度亦存在差异：卡赫韦拉湾无明显的潮汐信号或明确的水流方向，而特米科礁的水流受潮汐驱动，且以西北向流动为主。
本数据集《新西兰北部红藻结球体床：伴生生物多样性表征》依据知识共享署名4.0新西兰许可协议（Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 New Zealand Licence）发布，链接为http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/nz/。
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