Distribution and abundance of large invertebrate herbivores in south-western Australia, and their potential links to local and regional processes

A three-pronged approach was taken to quantify patterns of abundance and coexistance at small (centimetres) to very large (hundreds of kilometres) spatial scales. This was through a 'spatio-temporal survey' (tested hypotheses about spatial and temporal variation in abundances along < 40 km of coastline and over 26 months), 'large-scale survey' (tested hypotheses about spatial variation in a hierarchical design along > 400 km of coastline) and 'nearest-neighbour study' (tested a hypothesis about the spatial segregation of individual sea urchins at several places on one reef).

本研究采用三管齐下的研究方法，旨在量化从厘米级小型到数百公里级超大型空间尺度下的物种丰度与共存模式。具体通过三类研究实现：其一为时空调查（spatio-temporal survey），针对海岸线40公里范围内、为期26个月的海域，检验丰度的时空变异相关假说；其二为大尺度调查（large-scale survey），依托分层设计，在海岸线超过400公里的区域内检验空间变异相关假说；其三为最近邻研究（nearest-neighbour study），针对单个礁石上的多个点位，检验海胆个体空间隔离相关假说。