Territorial Herbivorous Damselfish Ecology on Western Australian Rocky Reefs

Western Australian temperate rocky reefs host research on the ecology of territorial herbivorous damselfish of the genus Parma. The study investigates species distributions, habitat associations, and the role of sea surface temperature, using Parma mccullochi as a model species. Parks Australia provides this record to highlight research relevant to Australian Marine Parks.

Use Cases

• Modeling species distribution based on sea surface temperature gradients mentioned in the description
• Analyzing habitat selection for turfing and foliose macroalgae cover described in the fine-scale study
• Studying the functional role of territorial herbivores in temperate reef ecosystems as suggested by the research objective
• Investigating latitudinal species separation and competition for resources as inferred from the geographical study

Strengths

• Research focuses on three identified species (Parma mccullochi, P. occidentalis, P. victoriae) with defined geographical ranges
• Includes fine-scale habitat analysis for variables like reef profile height (> 3 m) and macroalgae cover
• Broad-scale geographical study covers shallow temperate reefs throughout Western Australia

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download

Provenance

Source

Parks Australia

Collection Method

Likely contains field observations and ecological surveys, as the description discusses geographical studies and fine-scale habitat analysis.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-16 23:17:30.049799; freshness should be verified

Geography

Temperate Western Australian rocky reefs, with specific mention of Perth and latitudinal ranges.