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Data and outputs from: Achieving full representativity of seafloor biodiversity with minimal expansion: Exploring a strategy for New Zealand marine conservation

Tablada, Jordi1; Stephenson, Fabrice2

Published Feb 27, 2026 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.6q573n6bg

Data files

Feb 27, 2026 version files 2.08 GB

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Abstract

The New Zealand Seafloor Community Classification (NZSCC), which was developed to inform marine spatial planning processes at a national scale, depicts compositional turnover of 1,716 taxa (demersal fish, reef fish, benthic invertebrates, and macroalgae) classified in 75 groups representing seafloor communities. Here, we use the NZSCC and the conservation planning software Zonation to explore how representativity of benthic communities could be enhanced across spatial management areas (including protected areas) in New Zealand’s marine environment. Estimates of within- and between- NZSCC group similarity/dissimilarity (incorporating measures of uncertainty) and taxonomic richness, representing beta and alpha diversity respectively, are used to (1) identify a baseline spatial management scenario that ignores any existing spatial management measures; and (2) a scenario that prioritises optimal expansion of the current network of spatial management areas. Results indicate that a relatively small increase in spatial protection (1.5 %) can result in large increases in the representativity of all NZSCC groups within spatial management areas, including those groups currently not represented. The use of within- and between-group similarity/dissimilarity is an improvement on spatial prioritisation processes that consider groups within benthic classifications to be homogenous. These results provide a solid base for informing the development of improved future protection measures within New Zealand that can meaningfully contribute to the representativity element of the Global Biodiversity Framework Target 3.