Slope or Productivity Unique feature habitats

(defined at any level)

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sediment habitats. The proposed seascape classification framework incorporates upwelling-influenced habitats in the classification using productivity as a distinguishing variable unlike other habitat classifications (Greene et al. 1999, Davies et al. 2004, Madden et al. 2009).

In conclusion, this study defined several seascapes on the South African west coast shelf, based on geological, oceanographic and biophysical processes, a first for unconsolidated sediments of South Africa. From these seascapes, it was determined that productivity and unique physical/topographic features should be included in the seascape habitat classification framework. The influence of organic loading due to upwelling processes may distinguish seascapes at the fine scale. Therefore it is suggested that the seascape classification framework should incorporate productivity measures directly so that unconsolidated sediments from upwelling regions are included in the classifications. The utility of seascapes as biodiversity surrogates has not yet been ascertained as studies have produced both negative (Stevens and Connolly 2004) and positive (Przeslawski et al. 2011) results. It is however important to test seascapes against biological data until such time as the key physical processes for predicting community diversity in unconsolidated sediments are established. These key geophysical features should be included in habitat classifications to better predict community distribution patterns at an appropriate ecological scale.

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