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HALIMEDA ECOSYSTEMS Many Halimeda banks at the Big Bank Shoals are characterised by moderate to high coverage of the calcareous algae, Halimeda. These are Bashful, Big Bank, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Snow White and Udang. In various places, the Halimeda occurred in thick, almost meadow-like patches with little else present. However, sponges, soft corals and hard corals were common. Frequently the surface of the Halimeda plants supported encrusting sponges and a diverse collection of other organisms, such as bryozoans, foraminifera, tunicates and fishes. On these banks large amounts of calcareous sediment, consisting mostly of Halimeda skeletal material, was visible in unoccupied patches of the substrate. Halimeda appears to be an extremely important component of the Timor Sea ecosystem. Geological evidence suggests that Halimeda-derived carbonates have played a key role in building the banks themselves and that these algal communities rank amongst the highest in terms of carbon fixation. The following section outlines the general biology and ecology of Halimeda, followed by the survey results from the eight banks which share an abundance of this alga as a common feature.
Individual
bank descriptions
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