Tropical intertidal seaweed turf communities of Jesser Point, Sodwana Bay, South Africa

dc.contributor.advisorBolton, John Jen_ZA
dc.contributor.advisorAnderson, Robert Jen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorInnes, Sheonaen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2017-11-17T08:15:34Z
dc.date.available2017-11-17T08:15:34Z
dc.date.issued2010en_ZA
dc.date.updated2017-02-01T13:15:24Z
dc.description.abstractAlgal turfs play an important role in both tropical and temperate reef ecology, supporting a diverse array of macrofauna as well as being primary producers within both intertidal and subtidal ecosystems. Biodiversity and biomass patterns of the intertidal algal turfs at Sodwana Bay, South Africa have not yet been established so this study was undertaken to investigate these. It was hypothesised that both biodiversity and biomass would decrease with increasing height along the shore, as well as that sediment would have an effect on the community composition of the turfs. The community was sampled over a vertical range of 1.2 m and found to be dominated by the red alga Jania intermedia (24.21 % of total algal coverage) followed by Tolypiocladia glomerulata (18.05 %), Dictyota sp. (13.39 %), Jania adhaerens (12.32 %) and Sphacelaria tribuloides. (5.83 %). No significant vertical zonation patterns were found, though certain species showed vertical trends such as Asparagopsis taxiformis and Sphacelaria tribuloides, which occurred in greatest biomass lower down on the shore, while Tolypiocladia glomerulata occurred higher up on the shore. Sand was found to affect certain species more than others, with Tolypiocladia glomerulata, Jania adhaerens and Asparagopsis taxiformis occurring in greatest biomass when the amount of sediment found in the quadrat was low, while Sphacelaria tribuloides. showed the opposite pattern and Jania intermedia showed no distinct pattern. Sampling took place over 1.2 m vertical height along the shore at spring low tide therefore covering 60 % of the intertidal zone vertically (maximum tidal range in South Africa is 2 m). It is therefore possible that the turfs are the cause of a decline in zonation by remaining damp and decreasing desiccation gradients vertically along the shore.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationInnes, S. (2010). <i>Tropical intertidal seaweed turf communities of Jesser Point, Sodwana Bay, South Africa</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Biological Sciences. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/26378en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationInnes, Sheona. <i>"Tropical intertidal seaweed turf communities of Jesser Point, Sodwana Bay, South Africa."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Biological Sciences, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/26378en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationInnes, S. 2010. Tropical intertidal seaweed turf communities of Jesser Point, Sodwana Bay, South Africa. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Innes, Sheona AB - Algal turfs play an important role in both tropical and temperate reef ecology, supporting a diverse array of macrofauna as well as being primary producers within both intertidal and subtidal ecosystems. Biodiversity and biomass patterns of the intertidal algal turfs at Sodwana Bay, South Africa have not yet been established so this study was undertaken to investigate these. It was hypothesised that both biodiversity and biomass would decrease with increasing height along the shore, as well as that sediment would have an effect on the community composition of the turfs. The community was sampled over a vertical range of 1.2 m and found to be dominated by the red alga Jania intermedia (24.21 % of total algal coverage) followed by Tolypiocladia glomerulata (18.05 %), Dictyota sp. (13.39 %), Jania adhaerens (12.32 %) and Sphacelaria tribuloides. (5.83 %). No significant vertical zonation patterns were found, though certain species showed vertical trends such as Asparagopsis taxiformis and Sphacelaria tribuloides, which occurred in greatest biomass lower down on the shore, while Tolypiocladia glomerulata occurred higher up on the shore. Sand was found to affect certain species more than others, with Tolypiocladia glomerulata, Jania adhaerens and Asparagopsis taxiformis occurring in greatest biomass when the amount of sediment found in the quadrat was low, while Sphacelaria tribuloides. showed the opposite pattern and Jania intermedia showed no distinct pattern. Sampling took place over 1.2 m vertical height along the shore at spring low tide therefore covering 60 % of the intertidal zone vertically (maximum tidal range in South Africa is 2 m). It is therefore possible that the turfs are the cause of a decline in zonation by remaining damp and decreasing desiccation gradients vertically along the shore. DA - 2010 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2010 T1 - Tropical intertidal seaweed turf communities of Jesser Point, Sodwana Bay, South Africa TI - Tropical intertidal seaweed turf communities of Jesser Point, Sodwana Bay, South Africa UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/26378 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/26378
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationInnes S. Tropical intertidal seaweed turf communities of Jesser Point, Sodwana Bay, South Africa. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Biological Sciences, 2010 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/26378en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Biological Sciencesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherMarine Biologyen_ZA
dc.titleTropical intertidal seaweed turf communities of Jesser Point, Sodwana Bay, South Africaen_ZA
dc.typeBachelor Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelHonours
dc.type.qualificationnameBSc (Hons)en_ZA
uct.type.filetype
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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