Microscale dispersion of intertidal seagrass macrofauna

Previous studies of dispersion of intertidal seagrass-associated macrobenthos in subtropical Moreton Bay, Queensland, showed that patchiness characterised its assemblage abundance with scale-invariant magnitude across areas ranging from >8000 to 0.1 m(2). Those studies were here continued across the smaller scales (down to 0.014 m(2)) arguably more relevant to the dominant 2-10 mm long animals, using 16 replicate blocks of 5x5 contiguous 0.0024 m(2) cores nested within the previously studied site. At microscales >= 0.09 m(2), the earlier congruence of conclusions derived from patchiness indices and spatial autocorrelation broke down. At >0.014 m(2), adjacent points (cores) no longer together formed larger spatial units of related abundance (i.e. showed no autocorrelation), but point abundances were still highly disparate (as reflected in patchiness indices). Congruent indications of patchiness only manifested at 0.014 m(2) spatial scales. Assemblage dispersion pattern was partly consequent on one microgastropod (Pseudoliotia) occurring superabundantly in scattered 0.0024 m(2) hotspots.