ORCID Profile
0000-0002-8122-0456
Current Organisations
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Wellington
,
NIWA - The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd.
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Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-2022
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 14-01-2022
DOI: 10.3389/FMARS.2021.792712
Abstract: To support ongoing marine spatial planning in New Zealand, a numerical environmental classification using Gradient Forest models was developed using a broad suite of biotic and high-resolution environmental predictor variables. Gradient Forest modeling uses species distribution data to control the selection, weighting and transformation of environmental predictors to maximise their correlation with species compositional turnover. A total of 630,997 records (39,766 unique locations) of 1,716 taxa living on or near the seafloor were used to inform the transformation of 20 gridded environmental variables to represent spatial patterns of compositional turnover in four biotic groups and the overall seafloor community. Compositional turnover of the overall community was classified using a hierarchical procedure to define groups at different levels of classification detail. The 75-group level classification was assessed as representing the highest number of groups that captured the majority of the variation across the New Zealand marine environment. We refer to this classification as the New Zealand “Seafloor Community Classification” (SCC). Associated uncertainty estimates of compositional turnover for each of the biotic groups and overall community were also produced, and an added measure of uncertainty – coverage of the environmental space – was developed to further highlight geographic areas where predictions may be less certain owing to low s ling effort. Environmental differences among the deep-water New Zealand SCC groups were relatively muted, but greater environmental differences were evident among groups at intermediate depths in line with well-defined oceanographic patterns observed in New Zealand’s oceans. Environmental differences became even more pronounced at shallow depths, where variation in more localised environmental conditions such as productivity, seafloor topography, seabed disturbance and tidal currents were important differentiating factors. Environmental similarities in New Zealand SCC groups were mirrored by their biological compositions. The New Zealand SCC is a significant advance on previous numerical classifications and includes a substantially wider range of biological and environmental data than has been attempted previously. The classification is critically appraised and considerations for use in spatial management are discussed.
Publisher: Pensoft Publishers
Date: 17-09-2021
DOI: 10.3897/ZOOKEYS.1060.63307
Abstract: New Zealand’s surrounding deep waters have become known as a ersity hotspot for glass sponges (Porifera: Hexactinellida) in recent years, and description and collection efforts are continuing. Here we report on eight rossellids (Hexasterophora: Lyssacinosida: Rossellidae) collected during the 2017 RV Sonne cruise SO254 by ROV Kiel 6000 as part of Project PoribacNewZ of the University of Oldenburg, Germany. The material includes six species new to science, two of which are assigned to a so far undescribed genus we further re-describe two previously known species. The known extant rossellid ersity from the New Zealand region is thus almost doubled, from nine species in five genera to 17 species in eight genera. The specimens described here are only a small fraction of hexactinellids collected on cruise SO254. Unfortunately, the first author passed away while working on this collection, only being able to complete the nine descriptions reported here. The paper concludes with an obituary to him, the world-leading expert on glass sponge taxonomy who will be greatly missed.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-11-2012
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 19-06-2015
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 02-09-2022
DOI: 10.1038/S41467-022-32684-4
Abstract: In the deep ocean symbioses between microbes and invertebrates are emerging as key drivers of ecosystem health and services. We present a large-scale analysis of microbial ersity in deep-sea sponges (Porifera) from scales of sponge in iduals to ocean basins, covering 52 locations, 1077 host in iduals translating into 169 sponge species (including understudied glass sponges), and 469 reference s les, collected anew during 21 ship-based expeditions. We demonstrate the impacts of the sponge microbial abundance status, geographic distance, sponge phylogeny, and the physical-biogeochemical environment as drivers of microbiome composition, in descending order of relevance. Our study further discloses that fundamental concepts of sponge microbiology apply robustly to sponges from the deep-sea across distances of ,000 km. Deep-sea sponge microbiomes are less complex, yet more heterogeneous, than their shallow-water counterparts. Our analysis underscores the uniqueness of each deep-sea sponge ground based on which we provide critical knowledge for conservation of these vulnerable ecosystems.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 14-07-2015
Location: New Zealand
Location: New Zealand
No related grants have been discovered for Victoria Mills.