Fisheries Research and Development Corporation Australia - Meredith Point

Restoration Project

Fisheries Research and Development Corporation Australia - Meredith Point

Restoration Objective:

At Hope Island, preliminary short term trial clearings of urchin from barrens resulted in little recovery of macroalgal vegetation. It was postulated that limpets may be an additional herbivore controlling vegetation so this experiment was conducted to determine if urchins were the principal herbivore at Hope Island.

Site Selection Criteria:

Sites were selected that were urchin barrens, but had previously had kelp beds.

Cause Of Decline:

Multiple

Key Reasons For Decline:

Overgrazing

Scientific Paper

FRDC Grant 93/221. A pilot program to maximise tasmania's sea urchin (Heliocidaris erythrogramma) resource

J.C. Sanderson, M. Rossignol, W. James
https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1176219

Site Observations:

Observation Date

1st Jan 1995 – 1st Feb 1996

Action Summary:

Four treatments were used; 1) no urchins; 2) no urchins, abalone and limpets; 3) no abalone or limpets; 4) control. These were done in quadruplicate for 16 squares (10 m x 7.5m) divided by 50cm high netting. There were two blocks of four squares each on each side of the island with randomly allocated treatments. Ten Macrocystis plants were introduced to each of the squares. Juvenile plants (0.2-1.0m high) were obtained from Dodges Ferry, kept moist under hessian sacks and within 24 hours of harvest, replanted at Hope Island in June 1994. Individual plants were attached to bricks using rubber bands over the haptera at the base of the plant.

Lessons Learned:

None to report

Project Outcomes:

None to report

Nature of Disturbance:

Loss of transplants is thought to have been due to the high swells experienced in the area.

Key Reasons For Decline:

Overgrazing

Indicator Data:

Indicator:

Ending Value:

Starting Value:

Presence / Absence of Kelp