Systematic list of benthic invertebrates identified in the Heard Island and McDonald Islands region from 129 beam trawl or epibenthic sled samples 2003/08

This database provides the most comprehensive systematic list of mega-epibenthic assemblages in the Australian Economic Exclusive Zone (AEEZ) of Heard Island and McDonalds Islands (HIMI) at water depths between 168 and 970 m. Data were collected to better understand the types and distribution of benthic invertebrates, their vulnerability to bottom fishing, and the effectiveness of the HIMI Marine Protected Area (MPA) for representing and protecting the regions benthic biodiversity. A total 504 taxa from 14 phyla were collected from 129 stations throughout HIMI.

Two methods, beam trawl (for non-complex flat terrains) and epibenthic sled (for more complex, rough terrains), were used to sample the megabenthos. Both the trawl and sled were fitted with a 1 cm-2 mesh cod-end with a net opening (height x width) of 2.7 x 1.2 m for the beam trawl and 1.2 x 0.6 m for the epibenthic sled.

Samples were sorted into broad taxonomic groups onboard the sampling vessel then frozen for later analysis. In the laboratory, samples were sieved over a 1 cm mesh and all dead material removed. Megabenthos were identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level by using the available literature and assistance of taxonomic specialists. All non-colonial taxa were counted and then weighed. Colonial taxa that could not be counted as individuals, e.g. demosponges and bryozoans, were separated to the lowest taxonomic level and a whole weight recorded per sample.

Taxonomic expertise was provided by Dick Williams (Osteichthyes and Chondrichthyes) of the Australian Antarctic Division; Daphne Fautin and Andrea Crowther (Actinaria) of the University of Kansas; Cardin Wallace (Actinaria) from Queensland Museum; Elizabeth Turner (Bivalvia and Gastropoda) and Genefor Walker-Smith (Invertebrates) from the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery; Phillip Bock (Bryozoa), Mark Norman (Cephalopoda), Gary Poore (Crustacea), Joanne Taylor (Decapoda), Mark O'Loughlin (Holothuriodea), Jan Watson (Hydrozoa), Tim O'Hara (Ophiuroidea and Asteroidae), Robin Wilson (Polychaeta) and David Staples (Pycnogonida) of Museum Victoria; Igor Smirnov (Ophuroidea) of the University of Russia; and Andrew Hosie (Cirripedia) of the Western Australian Museum.

A reference collection of the taxa is lodged at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart, Tasmania. Quality: This list of fauna is conservative in regards to the likely diversity of HIMI. Infauna and taxa smaller than the mesh size used (10 mm) in this study would have been poorly selected, and further expert identification and separation of the taxa collected is likely to add further species to the list. For instance, some groups like the Bryozoa and Amphipoda are largely unsorted at this stage.

2018-10-10
The original files was reformatted to fit OBIS/GBFI/IPT Biodiversity.AQ standards, and a new datasheet "HIMI_Biodiveristy2003_08.csv" was created. The new dataset contains datasetID, occurrenceID, island, decimalLatitude, decimalLongitude, footprintWKF, eventDate, basisOfRecord, occurrenceStatus, organismQuantity, organismQuantityType, samplingProtocol, minimumDepthInMeters, maximumDepthInMeters, institutionCode, continent. The lowest taxonomical rank of the species identified that could be determined is provided, after matched in WoRMS (World Register of Marine Species).

本数据库收录了赫德岛和麦克唐纳群岛（Heard Island and McDonald Islands, HIMI）澳大利亚专属经济区（Australian Economic Exclusive Zone, AEEZ）内水深168至970米海域的大型底上生物群落系统名录，为目前该领域最全面的相关名录。本数据集的采集工作旨在深入厘清底栖无脊椎动物的类群组成与分布格局、其对底拖捕捞活动的脆弱性，以及赫德岛和麦克唐纳群岛海洋保护区（HIMI Marine Protected Area, MPA）在表征与保护该区域底栖生物多样性方面的有效性。本次调查在赫德岛和麦克唐纳群岛全域的129个站位共采集到隶属于14个门的504个分类单元。

本研究采用两种采样工具采集大型底上生物：桁拖网（适用于非复杂平坦地形）与底上生物拖橇（适用于复杂崎岖地形）。两种采样工具均配备1cm²网目的囊网，其中桁拖网的网口尺寸（高×宽）为2.7×1.2米，底上生物拖橇的网口尺寸为1.2×0.6米。

采样船上先将样品按大类群进行初步分选，随后冷冻保存以待后续实验室分析。实验室阶段，样品经1cm网目筛网分选，并去除所有死亡有机质。研究人员结合现有文献资料，并依托分类学专家的协助，将大型底上生物鉴定至尽可能低的分类阶元。所有非群居类群均进行个体计数并称重；对于无法以个体计数的群居类群（如寻常海绵与苔藓虫），则将其鉴定至尽可能低的分类阶元，并记录每个样品的总重量。

本研究的分类学鉴定工作得到了以下专家的支持：澳大利亚南极署的迪克·威廉姆斯（负责硬骨鱼纲与软骨鱼纲）；堪萨斯大学的达芙妮·福廷与安德里亚·克劳瑟（负责海葵目）；昆士兰博物馆的卡丹·华莱士（负责海葵目）；塔斯马尼亚博物馆与美术馆的伊丽莎白·特纳（负责双壳纲与腹足纲）、吉纳弗·沃克-史密斯（负责无脊椎动物类群）；维多利亚博物馆的菲利普·博克（苔藓动物门）、马克·诺曼（头足纲）、加里·普尔（甲壳纲）、乔安妮·泰勒（十足目）、马克·奥洛林（海参纲）、简·沃森（水螅纲）、蒂姆·奥哈拉（蛇尾纲与海星纲）、罗宾·威尔逊（多毛纲）、戴维·斯台普斯（海蜘蛛纲）；俄罗斯大学的伊戈尔·斯米尔诺夫（蛇尾纲）；以及西澳大利亚博物馆的安德鲁·霍西（蔓足纲）。

所有分类单元的凭证标本均保存于塔斯马尼亚州霍巴特的塔斯马尼亚博物馆与美术馆。数据质量说明：本名录所记录的赫德岛和麦克唐纳群岛海域动物多样性较为保守。底内动物以及体型小于本次研究所用10mm网目的类群难以被有效采集；后续通过专家进一步鉴定与分选采集到的类群，还可能为该名录补充更多物种。例如，苔藓动物门与端足目等类群目前仍未完成全面分选。

2018-10-10
原始文件已重新格式化，以符合OBIS/GBFI/IPT Biodiversity.AQ标准，并生成了新的数据表"HIMI_Biodiversity2003_08.csv"。新数据集包含以下字段：数据集ID（datasetID）、发生记录ID（occurrenceID）、岛屿名称（island）、十进制纬度（decimalLatitude）、十进制经度（decimalLongitude）、空间足迹WKT（footprintWKF）、事件日期（eventDate）、记录依据（basisOfRecord）、发生状态（occurrenceStatus）、生物个体数量（organismQuantity）、数量类型（organismQuantityType）、采样方案（samplingProtocol）、最小水深（米，minimumDepthInMeters）、最大水深（米，maximumDepthInMeters）、机构代码（institutionCode）、大陆（continent）。所有已鉴定物种的最低分类阶元均已通过与世界海洋物种名录（World Register of Marine Species, WoRMS）比对后确定，并在数据集中标注。