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).