3.1.2. Richness
In contrast to abundance, epifaunal species richness exhibited a distinct trend, with higher values observed in proximity to the lagoon mouth and lower values towards the lagoon head (Fig. 3.1B). Centre Banks displayed the highest average species richness (1.48) across all seasons, followed by Klein Oesterval (1.27) and Oesterval (1.13). In contrast, the number of species recorded at Bottelary and Geelbek was comparatively lower (0.53 and 0.55 respectively). These differences were significant across sites (F = 8,01, p < 0.001), seasons (F = 3,64, p = 0.02) and their interaction (F = 3,09, p = 0.001). Post hoc analysis revealed significant mean differences in means between each of the sites located closer to the mouth and the two sites at the lagoon head (Tukey HSD,p < 0.05, Fig. 3.1B). Seasonal variation in species richness was primarily driven by a significant difference observed between summer and autumn (Tukey HSD, p = 0.04).