Relationship of biological communities to habitat structure on the largest remnant flat oyster reef (Ostrea angasi) in Australia
C. Crawford A D , G. Edgar A , C. L. Gillies B C and G. Heller-Wagner A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 49, Hobart, Tas. 7001, Australia.
B The Nature Conservancy, PO Box 57, Carlton South, Vic. 3053, Australia.
C TropWATER (Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research), James Cook University, Townsville, Qld 4811, Australia.
D Corresponding author. Email: christine.crawford@utas.edu.au
Marine and Freshwater Research 71(8) 972-983 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF19171
Submitted: 14 May 2019 Accepted: 8 September 2019 Published: 9 December 2019
Abstract
Oyster reef restoration is a growing field in Australia, yet formal descriptions of associated biological communities for reefs created by native flat oysters (Ostrea angasi) do not currently exist. Native flat oysters once formed extensive and complex three-dimensional habitats in bays and estuaries across southern Australia until indiscriminate fishing, sedimentation and disease led to their near disappearance. To determine the diversity and abundance on naturally occurring oyster reefs, we sampled four sites on the last known naturally occurring oyster reef ecosystem, which resides in north-eastern Tasmania, and compared them to the surrounding soft sediment regions. Assemblages were related to environmental variables to determine whether consistent patterns were present. Oyster reef sites contained three times the faunal abundance of the surrounding soft sediment regions. Abundance among echinoderms, arthropods, molluscs and fish was much elevated, whereas annelids showed similar levels of abundance but differed in terms of species composition. These results show that oyster reefs do support abundant and diverse assemblages, emphasising the probable loss of community-level biodiversity associated with their historical decline around southern Australia.
Additional keywords: ecosystem services, habitat complexity, reef restoration, shellfish reefs.
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