Title Processed grab camera data to investigate substrate categories associated with benthic invertebrate fauna of the Southern Benguela Ecoregion on the Algoa Voyage 263, August 2019
Authors

Tanya Haupt
Oceans and Coastal Research, Department of Forestry and Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), South Africa

Liesl Janson
Department of Forestry and Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), South Africa

Publisher Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (2024)
Contributors

Project Leader: Tanya Haupt
Oceans and Coastal Research, Department of Forestry and Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), South Africa, email: THaupt-Schuter@environment.gov.za

Data Curator: Tanya Haupt
Oceans and Coastal Research, Department of Forestry and Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), South Africa, email: THaupt-Schuter@environment.gov.za

Project Member: Talicia Pillay
Council for GeoScience, South Africa, email: tpillay@geoscience.org.za.za

Project Member: Liesl Janson
Oceans and Coastal Research, Department of Forestry and Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), South Africa, email: Ljanson@environment.gov.za

Contact Person: Liesl Janson
Oceans and Coastal Research, Department of Forestry and Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), South Africa, email: Ljanson@environment.gov.za

Project Member: Albe Bosman
Iziko Museums of South Africa, email: abosman@iziko.org.za

Abstract This is processed grab data from the Southern Benguela Cruise, which was conducted in the Southern Benguela Ecoregion on the Algoa Voyage 263, August 2019. This study focuses on providing a better understanding of the benthic invertebrate communities and associated habitats of three priority areas within the southernmost portion of the Southern Benguela Ecoregion. This includes Robben Island, the Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area (TMNP MPA) and the newly proposed Seas of Good Hope Ecologically and Biologically Significant Area (EBSA). The aims are: 1) To contribute to the first baseline assessment for continuous long-term monitoring. 2) To determine the species diversity of benthic invertebrate communities, and how geological (i.e habitat type) and physical factors (i.e. location, depth) may be responsible for driving their distribution and abundance. 3) To verify habitat types: Verification of the habitats associated with physical features (e.g. geological substrate) by means of in situ sampling of the seabed (using a dredge or grab) and underwater visual assessments (using benthic cameras). 4) To provide legitimate conservation rationale for the establishment of the Seas of Good Hope EBSA and possible expansion of the TMNP MPA.
Data
Embargoed
Temporal extent 29 Aug 2019 – 07 Sep 2019
Geographic extent
Keywords Algoa, Algoa 263, benthic invertebrates, grab, remote underwater imagery, SDG 14.2.1 Number of countries using ecosystem-based approaches to managing marine areas, substrate categories