ABSTRACT

Cape Rodney–Ōkakari Point Marine Reserve (North Island, New Zealand/ Te Ika-a-Māui, Aotearoa), is New Zealand’s oldest marine reserve and includes one of the most visited beaches in the country. The reserve’s effect on both target species and biogenic habitats is well-documented. It is less well-known, however, how protection affects other taxa. Here, we present two surveys, made nearly 50 years apart, of encrusting, intertidal bryozoans from Echinoderm Reef, quantify their relative abundance and species richness, and discuss possible reasons for the changes between 1971 and 2019. Prior to protection, encrusting bryozoans were common under boulders on Echinoderm Reef, a rocky intertidal mudstone terrace within the reserve. Since the reserve designation, however, there has been a decline in both abundance and species richness within this intertidal bryozoan community. Inconsistent sampling of the reserve’s bryozoans makes it difficult to correlate changes in the bryozoan community with changes in the reserve’s biotic and abiotic characteristics. Despite monitoring shortcomings, there is still value in the ad hoc biological surveys that have been performed, as they provide a snapshot of what communities were like at the time of collection. In the future, however, more research is needed to understand change within this bryozoan community.

摘要

罗德尼角 - 奥卡卡里角海洋保护区（新西兰北岛/新西兰 Te Ika-a-Māui）是新西兰最古老的海洋保护区，拥有新西兰最受欢迎的海滩之一。该保护区对目标物种和生物栖息地的影响都有详细记录。然而，保护如何影响其他类群却鲜为人知。在此，我们对棘皮动物礁的潮间带壳苔藓虫进行了两次相隔近 50 年的调查，量化了它们的相对丰度和物种丰富度，并讨论了 1971 年至 2019 年间发生变化的可能原因。在受到保护之前，带壳苔藓虫很常见棘皮动物礁 (Echinoderm Reef) 的巨石下，棘皮动物礁 (Echinoderm Reef) 是保护区内的一个岩石潮间带泥岩台地。然而，自从指定储备以来，这个潮间带苔藓虫群落的数量和物种丰富度都在下降。由于对保护区苔藓虫的采样不一致，很难将苔藓虫群落的变化与保护区的生物和非生物特征的变化联系起来。尽管监测存在缺陷，但已进行的临时生物调查仍然有价值，因为它们提供了收集时社区状况的快照。然而，未来需要更多的研究来了解这个苔藓虫群落的变化。已经进行的临时生物调查仍然有价值，因为它们提供了收集时社区状况的概况。然而，未来需要更多的研究来了解这个苔藓虫群落的变化。已经进行的临时生物调查仍然有价值，因为它们提供了收集时社区状况的概况。然而，未来需要更多的研究来了解这个苔藓虫群落的变化。