Miss Dayanitha Damodaran1,2, Dr Katherine Dafforn2, Dr Oliver Floerl1, Dr Marie Joo Le Guen3, Mr Rob Whitton3, Mr Sumanth Ranganathan3, Dr Paul South1
1Cawthron Institute, Nelson, New Zealand, 2Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, 3Scion, Rotorua, New Zealand
Coastlines are becoming increasingly urbanised with many complex natural habitats being replaced by uniform, artificial structures such as those found in marinas, which often favour invasive species over natives. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether replicating topographies of natural rocky reefs could potentially benefit native habitat-forming species in artificial environments. Using 3D scanning and additive manufacturing, we replicated the topography of different natural substrates from green-lipped mussel (Perna canaliculus) beds to create physical substrate models and assessed how juvenile mussels interacted with them. We created 7 different substrate models with differing complexities (3 different rock, 3 different mussels on rock and a flat control) and introduced juvenile mussels (2 – 10 mm) onto the models in mesocosms. Mussel locations were recorded after 24 hours and preferences for substrate topographies, clumping patterns, and migratory behaviour were tested in relation to the surface complexity of the 3D models. Overall, we found that the structural complexity provided by artificial mussels enhanced the retention of live juvenile mussels on artificial substrates compared to rock models and flat controls. When investigating fractal dimensions, rugosity and height variation, as measures of complexity within the model, height variation also affected the behaviour and retention of juvenile mussels. Additionally, mussel models tended to have more clusters while rock and control models had larger clusters. The results of this study will inform artificial habitat design with the overall goal of increasing native biodiversity and abundance in artificial habitats.
Presentation Slides – Dayanitha Damodaran
Biography:
Dayanitha is a PhD student associated with Macquarie University and Cawthron Institute (New Zealand). Her research investigates the habitat requirements of native foundation species like the green-lipped mussel (Perna canaliculus), to inform and produce ecologically engineered structures utilizing 3D scanning and printing, that promote native species over non-indigenous species. Prior to starting her Ph.D. Dayanitha worked as a junior fisheries scientist and completed her master’s degree, at Victoria University. Her Master’s thesis examined the morphological, behavioral, and histological responses of two species of marine bivalves to different environmental stressors.
