The macrobenthic fauna of Halophila seagrass meadows in New South Wales

The fauna of seagrass meadows is a topic which has received considerable worldwide attention is recent years. Australia has been no exception and the extensive literature on Australian seagrass beds is reviewed by Rainer and Fitzhardinge (1981). These reviews cover floristics, productivity, fauna and importance of the seagrass habitat as a renewable resource. However, most attention has been given to the major seagrass communities of Zoestra capricorni and Posidonia australis. Thus, although there now exists considerable information concerning the benthic fauna of these communities, data on the fauna of Halophilia meadows are limited to more general studies where Halophilia occurred as one habitat type. The paucity of information on the macrobenthos of Halophilia meadows has lead to this collation of relevant previously unpublished data which resulted from sampling programmes carried out by the New South Wales Division of Fisheries.