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Abstract
Substrate and infauna samples were taken at four tidal levels (mean high water springs, high mid beach, low mid beach, and mean low water neaps) with a 0.0625 m2 quadrat at 14 North Island beaches in New Zealand. The distributions of Peracarida (Crustacea) were correlated with sediment type, tidal height, and degree of exposure; sampling began in March 1972 and was completed in November 1973.
Substrate samples were sieved and median diameter of the particles ranged from very coarse sand of — 0.60⊘ to very fine sand of + 3.259⊘. Substrates were variously sorted: ⊘ quartile deviation ranged from 0.14⊘ to 0.66⊘, skewness from ‐ 0.08⊘ to + 0.07⊘.
Peracarid fauna was moderately abundant; the maximum value was 720 animals per square metre on a fully exposed beach. Highest average abundance (303 per square metre) for the 14 beaches was recorded from the mean low water neap station. Amphipoda was the dominant group (54% of all Peracarida recorded), followed by Isopoda (33%) and Cumacea (13%). Frequency of occurrence at the 56 stations was headed by Amphipoda (64%), followed by Isopoda (46%), and Cumacea (20%).
The results are compared with data from Stewart Island beaches, and the biogeographical distributions of recorded Peracarida are discussed. An unexpectedly high degree of endemism exists for a warm‐temperate region, caused by the isolation of New Zealand, which has no direct shallow water contact with tropical or cold temperate regions.