Spatial and temporal variance of invertebrate grazers in response to climatic stresses and food availability at different spatial scales on coastal rocky shores

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The proposed research project aims to investigate the causes of spatial and temporal variations observed in rocky intertidal communities in New South Wales (Australia). Different invertebrate grazers dominate these intertidal communities: generally, snails and limpets on sheltered shores and barnacles together with limpets on exposed shores.Experimental manipulations of food abundance (micro-algae), topography, orientation of waves and sun will be carried out. In parallel, the abundance of invertebrate grazers will be measured and temperature, water flow and waves will be recorded. All experiments and measurements will be conducted at shores with different wave exposure (exposed and sheltered shores), each at three different spatial scales (cm - 10s of cm; m - 10s of m; km - 10s of km) in summer and in winter.The complex data obtained through this experimentation will then be treated statistically in order to explain the observed patterns and to establish relationships between the environmental factors and the observed spatial distribution of and temporal variations in invertebrate grazers.