Intertidal invertebrates in Western Australia

Abstract:
Aims:
Along the west coast of Australia, intertidal rock platforms support high invertebrate diversities that provide vital ecosystem services, yet patterns in diversity are not well understood. Here, we document and examine the invertebrate assemblages on intertidal rock platforms in Western Australia and delineate ecoregions according to assemblage structure. 
Location: West coast of Australia
Taxon: Invertebrates
Methods:
We recorded 406 invertebrate species from quadrat and timed search surveys on 39 intertidal limestone platforms that span 16° of latitude. We analysed latitudinal variation in species assemblage composition and multiple components of invertebrate diversity (alpha, gamma and beta diversity) that relate to different spatial scales (local, regional, bioregional) using multivariate analysis of variance and distance-based linear models. Bioregions of similar invertebrate assemblages were delineated using hierarchical cluster analysis with unweighted pair..., , , # Intertidal invertebrates in Western Australia

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.r7sqv9sm9](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.r7sqv9sm9)

## Description of the data and file structure

Intertidal macroinvertebrate species diversity and distribution information along the Western Australian coast from 18S - 34S. 

Data collected by visual census surveys of 30 x 1m^2 quadrats and timed searches at 39 different sites across 16 latitudes.

We have submitted our site presence/absence data (The assemblages of each site pooled from quadrat and timed search data (site alpha diversity) (intertidal_invertebrate_assemblages_wa.csv), and invertebrate taxonomy and trait information (invertebrate_trait_information.csv).

### Files and variables

#### **intertidal_invertebrate_assemblages_wa.csv**

* *Taxa: *Currently valid scientific name or assigned morphospecies open nomenclature qualifiers (e.g. sp. 1, sp.2, etc.).
* *Latitude:* Degree of latitude south (°S).
* *Region:*  Region of Western Aust..., ,