https://ogma.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Index ${session.getAttribute("locale")} 5 https://ogma.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Repository/uon:39157 Tue 09 Aug 2022 14:06:40 AEST ]]> https://ogma.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Repository/uon:39513 2 Heron Island Reef in Queensland, Australia. Ex situ bioturbation rates of the most abundant holothurian, Holothuria atra, were assessed during 24-h feeding experiments. Using density measurements of holothurians across reef flat zones in a 27,000 m² map produced from drone imagery, we extrapolated bioturbation across the reef using satellite remote sensing data. Individual H. atra were estimated to produce approximately 14 kg of bioturbated sediment per year. On a reef scale (excluding the reef lagoon) and accounting for varying densities of holothurians across different reef zones, total bioturbation from holothurians at Heron Reef was estimated at over 64,000 metric tonnes per year, slightly more than the mass of five Eiffel Towers. These results highlight the scale of structural and biochemical impacts that holothurians have on reef flats and their importance to ecosystem functioning and services. Management of these animals on reefs is imperative as overharvesting would likely cause substantial negative effects on sedimentary ecosystems and their biogeochemistry in corals reefs.]]> Fri 10 Jun 2022 15:42:34 AEST ]]>