Intertidal Invertebrate and Algal Communities on the Rocky Shores of the Bay of Morbihan, Kerguelen (South Indian Ocean)

Abstract. Both the emergent surfaces and tide pools of the rocky intertidal shores of the Bay of Morbihan, Kerguelen are depauperate in number of macroinvertebrate and macroalgal species. Diversity (H') was high and similar for macroinvertebrates in tide pools from the high to low intertidal and on the emergent surface exposed at extreme low-tide when calculated in terms of numbers of individuals. H' was lower when calculated in terms of energy and twice as high for the tide pool in the high intertidal than the lower tide-pools and the emergent surface. H' for macroalgae was 0 in the highest tide-pool and highest in the lower tide-pools. The density/species-rank curves for the macroinvertebrates and the macroalgae are logarithmic but vary in linearity. Algal biomass was 37 % of the macroinvertebrate biomass on the emergent surface at the extreme low-tide, but 106% in the highest tide-pool. Twenty-three months after denudation of the tide pools, the ratios of total densities of the macroinvertebrates (ind m^-2) to the original densities were 48 % for the pool in the high intertidal, 25 % for the middle tide-pool, and 4 % for the pool in the low intertidal. The diversity indexes for the macroinvertebrates were similar to the original ones. Recolonization at Kerguelen is slow and shows an intertidal gradient. The composition of the rocky intertidal community at Kerguelen results from the rigorous physical environment and the small number and functional types of species. In the absence of major predators on macroinvertebrates and of herbivores on macroalgae, interaction among the species present seems to be competitive in nature.