Seagrass macrofaunal abundance shows both multifractality and scale-invariant patchiness.
Spatial patterns of abundance of the whole macrobenthic assemblage and of its 10 most numerous species were examined across hierarchically nested scales within a 0.85 ha area of intertidal seagrass in subtropical Moreton Bay, Queensland. Multifractality characterised the assemblage and all ten dominant species across those scales (c. 33, 130, 530 & 2115 m2), with patchiness of assemblage numbers and those of at least some dominants exhibiting scale-invariance. The system displayed several abundance peaks, 12% of stations accounting for 88% of total variance, with many individual dominants showing a series of non-overlapping 'hot-spots'. Scale invariance and multifractality occurred notwithstanding low levels of species interaction consequent on maintenance at very low density. This suggests that critical self-organisation cannot be responsible for such patterning. Contrary to received wisdom, coefficient β of Taylor's power-law cannot form an index of aggregation, although it does indicate direction of change in dispersion pattern with changing numbers.
['Barnes|R S K|RSK|', 'Laurie|H|H|']
D059001:Aquatic Organisms D004463:Ecology D017753:Ecosystem D004784:Environmental Monitoring D011793:Queensland
Seagrass Abundance Multifractality Patchiness Moreton bay Macrobenthos Self-similarity Spatial scale Taylor's index of aggregation