From Australian Oceans Data Network
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Small scale distribution of bioeroding sponges in shallow water at Orpheus Island, Great Barrier Reef

Created 23/06/2025

Updated 23/06/2025

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Five permanent 100m transects were established in the southern corner of Little Pioneer Bay, Orpheus Island. The transects, placed perpendicular to the coast, extended from the sandy zone, which is dry at low tide, across the reef flat. A quadrat with 0.5m sides, divided into 25 x 100 cm² quadrats was placed on the substrate along the whole length of each transect. The area of sponge tissue was estimated by counting the 100 cm² quadrats in which sponge tissue occurred. Due to the difficulty in identifying species in the field, seven species or groups of species were distinguished along the transects. These were: encrusting beta-form Cliona orientalis; brown alpha-form sponges (including the alpha-form of Cliona orientalis); brown to orange alpha-form sponges (includes Pione vastifica, Pione caesia and Bernatia vermifera); yellow to orange sponges (includes Cliona celata and Cliothosa hancocki); Aka mucosa; Zyzzya criceta; and others.Substrate characteristics were also recorded along the transects by counting the number of 100 cm² quadrats with over 50% of a given substrate. The substrate categories included: sand; rubble; rock; mud; dead top coral; coral material pavement; soft corals (mainly Sarcophyton); branching corals (Porites cylindrica, Millepora sp. and Porites rus); massive Porites colonies; various live corals; and funnel shaped corals. These characteristics were used to define zones along the transects. The zones were: sand flat; mixed zone (sand, rubble, dead top coral); coral pavement; branching corals; live coral reef relief; and soft coral belts. The amount of exposed calcium carbonate substrate suitable for settlement of bioeroding sponges was recorded. This study was initiated to address the lack of ecological data on bioeroding sponges in the Pacific. The objective was to determine small-scale distribution patterns of bioeroding sponges in shallow water across a reef flat and to examine the relationship between distribution patterns and substrate availability, exposure during low tide and water depth.

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Additional Info

Field Value
Title Small scale distribution of bioeroding sponges in shallow water at Orpheus Island, Great Barrier Reef
Language eng
Licence Not Specified
Landing Page https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/11b3d95c-fc92-491b-aa5d-6f44897dba1b
Contact Point
Australian Ocean Data Network
reception@aims.gov.au
Reference Period 18/09/2018
Geospatial Coverage
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
{
  "coordinates": [
    146.48945689201358,
    -18.59923250631276
  ],
  "type": "Point"
}
Data Portal Australian Oceans Data Network

Data Source

This dataset was originally found on Australian Oceans Data Network "Small scale distribution of bioeroding sponges in shallow water at Orpheus Island, Great Barrier Reef". Please visit the source to access the original metadata of the dataset:
https://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/csw/dataset/small-scale-distribution-of-bioeroding-sponges-in-shallow-water-at-orpheus-island-great-barrier