Video observations on the habitat association of demersal nekton in the mid-shelf benthic environment off the Orange River mouth
Loading...
Date
2000
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
NISC and Taylor & Francis
Abstract
A semi-quantitative assessment is made of the animals observed in archived videotapes taken from the research submersible Jago, during diamond mining and exploratory surveys off the mouth of the Orange River on the west coast of southern Africa (28° IS'S, 29°11 'S) in November 1996. The seabed environment is described and nekton associations with substratum features are identified. The area is characterized by heterogeneity to its physical and biological struture. The variety of observed nekton is low, and communities are dominated by goby Sufflogobius bibarbatus, juvenile hake Merluccius spp. and cuttlefish Sepia spp. (on soft substrata), as well as false jacopever Sebastes capen sis and kingklip Genypterus capensis (on rocky substrata)
Description
Keywords
Benguela upwelling ecosystem, Video analysis, Jago, Manned submersible, Demersal fish assemblages, Seabed habitats, Sufflogobius bibarbatus, Merluccius, Sebastes, Genypterus
Citation
Gibbons, M.J., Sulaiman, A., Hissman, K., Schauer, J., McMillan, I. and Wickens, P.A. (2000). Video observations on the habitat association of demersal nekton in the mid-shelf benthic environment off the Orange River mouth. South African Journal of Marine Science, 22(1): 1-7