Spatial variation in soft-sediment benthos

V a r ~a t ~o n (patchiness) In the d~str~bution of organisms and other env~ronmental vanables exists at different spatial scales This patchiness has Important implicat~ons for comparative and d e s c r ~p t ~v e studies of d~stnbution and abundance because ~t complicates comparisons of abundance at the largest s p a t ~a l scales Although the existence of patchiness has been recognised for a long time, it has not been adequately addressed in most studies of manne soft s e d ~m e n t s which are often confounded (or pseudoreplicated') because of a lack of appropriate spatlal replicat~on Spatial vanation In the distnbution of soft-sediment macrofauna In Botany Bay, Australia 1s described using a nested hierarchical sampling design Significant vanatlon was detected at spatial scales from 10 m to 3 5 km Implications of patchiness for environmental sampllng and monitoring and the means of overcoming associated problems are discussed The present study concerns the abundance of macrofauna but the conclusions are general and are relevant to s t u d ~e s of other vanables such as pollutants