Magister Scientiae (Biodiversity and Conservation Biology) - MSc (Biodiv and Cons Biol) / Hard benthic reefs are increasingly known as highly diverse biodiversity ecosystems where sponges
constitute a significant proportion of inhabitants. Nearly 60% of the seabed over the inner and outer shelf on
the Agulhas Bank comprises hard substrata, and in combination with the convergence of the cold Benguela
and the warm Agulhas Currents serves to create a nutrient rich zone supporting multiple fish nurseries. Here
we provide the first information on hard benthic reef habitats on the subphotic zone of the Agulhas Bank
complex marine protected area, which include Alphard Banks, 72 Mile Reef and 45 Mile Reef, as well as
the shallow reefs which include 12 Mile Reef, 6 Mile Reef, 7 Mile Reef, Marthas Reef and inshore reefs
within the Tsitsikamma marine protected area. The aim is to provide baseline data on the sponge fauna by
identifying species and describing the biodiversity of these hard reefs between the depths 10–200 m on the
south coast of South Africa. / 2024
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uwc/oai:etd.uwc.ac.za:11394/8686 |
| Date | January 2021 |
| Creators | Weideman, Imogen |
| Contributors | Samaai, Toufiek |
| Publisher | University of Western Cape |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | University of Western Cape |
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