ASPECTS of the BIOLOGY and ECOLOGY of the SOUTH AFRICAN ABALONE Hallotls MIDAE LINNAEUS, 1758 (MOLLUSCA: GASTROPODA) ALONG the EASTERN CAPE and CISKEI COAST
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ASPECTS OF THE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN ABALONE HALlOTlS MIDAE LINNAEUS, 1758 (MOLLUSCA: GASTROPODA) ALONG THE EASTERN CAPE AND CISKEI COAST. THESIS Submitted in Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science of Rhodes University by AIDAN DAVID WOOD January 1993 Frontispiece: The South African abalone Haliotis midae Linnaeus, 1758. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 111 ABSTRACT IV CHAPTER 1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 2 STUDY SITES 6 2.1 Introduction 6 2.2 Study sites 10 2.2.1 Cape Recife 10 2.2.2 Kelly's Beach 12 2.2.3 Great Fish Point 12 2.2.4 Mgwalana 15 CHAPTER 3 POPULATION STRUCTURE & HABITAT REQUIREMENTS 18 3.1 Introduction 18 3.2 Materials and Methods 19 3.2.1 Habitat types 20 3.2.2 Population structure 20 3.3 Results 21 3.3.1 Habitat description 21 3.3.2 Population structure 24 3.4 Discussion 29 CHAPTER 4 AGE AND GROWTH 36 4.1 Introduction 36 4.1.1 Ageing techniques 37 4.2 Materials and Methods 40 4.2.1 Size-at-age determination 40 4.2.2 Mark-recapture study 41 4.2.3 Morphometric relationships 47 4.3 Results 47 4.3.1 Sizes-at -age 47 4.3.2 Tag returns 4R 4.4 Discussion 60 CHAPTER 5 FEEDING 66 5.1 Introduction 66 5.2 Materials and Methods 68 5.2.1 Food availability 68 5.2.2 Stomach content analysis 69 5.3 Results 71 5.3.1 Algal composition 71 5.3.2 Stomach contents 75 5.4 Discussion 79 CHAPTER 6 REPRODUCTION 88 6.1 Introduction 88 6.2 Materials and Methods 89 6.2.1 Gonad Bulk Index (GBI) 90 6.2.2 The reproductive cycle 91 6.2.3 Sex ratios 92 6.2.4 Size at sexual maturity 92 6.2.5 Fecundity 93 6.3 Results 95 6.3.1 Gonad Bulk Index 95 6.3.2 Histology of the reproductive cycle 97 6.3.3 Sex ratios 115 6.3.4 Size at sexual maturity 116 6.3.5 Fecundity 117 6.4 Discussion 124 6.4.1 Gonad Bulk Index 124 6.4.2 Reproductive cycle 125 6.4.3 Sex ratios 132 6.4.4 Sexual maturity 133 6.4.5 Fecundity 134 6.4.6 Factors affecting the reproductive cycle 134 CHAPTER 7 SUMMARY AND MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS 139 REFERENCES 147 11 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To my supervisor, Dr. Colin Buxton for his support, encouragement and insight throughout the study, I am deeply indebted. Without the support and cooperation of the many people who helped with the diving work in this study, none of this would have been possible, and I am extremely grateful to Dr. Colin Buxton, Bruce Mann, Angus Paterson, Pete Britz, Tim Andrew, Dr. Rob Tilney, Prof. Tom Hecht, Marc Griffiths, Mark Dixon, Larry Oellerman, Peter Thorpe, Anton Pretorius, Andre Bok, Kevin Heasman and Paul Stevens for their assistance. A special thanks to Prof. Pete Cook, Neville Sweijd, Colleen Parkins and Paul Hanekom from V.C.T. and Angus Mackenzie from Sea Fisheries Research Institute (SFRI) for their help in the tagging operation at Great Fish Point, to Gerry van Niekerk of Atlas Sea Farms in Port Elizabeth for providing transport to and diving assistance at Bird Island, and to Chris Heineken of Atlas Sea Farms in Saldanha Bay for additional assistance at Bird Island. Dr. Sarah Radloff, Larry Oellerman and Kevin Heasman are thanked for their assistance with the statistical analyses, and I am grateful to Linda Coetzee for her patience in helping me get to grips with Word Perfect. I further wish to thank the following people for their input during this project: Rob Tarr at SFRI for his advice on tagging and transecting methods. Angus Mackenzie for supplying the original data from tagged Bird Island animals. Margaret Crampton and Eve Cambray for the continuous and enthusiastic supply of abalone literature. Bill Wesson for revealing his secret caches of perlemoen at the Mgwalana wreck site (among others). Greg Foster for his assistance in histological staining techniques. Dr. Colin Buxton, Angus Paterson, Bruce Mann, Judy Lang, Marc Griffiths~ Dr. Rob Tilney, Neville Sweijd and Craig Clayden for constructive advice on methods and results. The Foundation for Research and Development are thanked for bursaries in 1991 and 1992. The Ciskei Directorate for Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development are thanked for supplying the incentive and financial backing for this project and for ensuring the supply of abalone and off road vehicle permits. A final special thank-you to Sandy Abreu for her support and her realization and understanding that field trips were necessary, and to my parents for having faith in me and supporting me in the realization of my goals. iii ABSTRACT The South African abalone Haliotis midae Linnaeus, 1758, is an important commercial, recreational and aquaculture mollusc species. It is the largest of the six haliotid species found in South African waters and has the second largest distributional range aside from Haliotis spadicea which is widely exploited by rock and surf anglers as bait. Analysis of population structure at Great Fish Point revealed that H. midae exhibited a high degree of microhabitat specificity, and that while dietary habits played a role in habitat selection, it was ultimately the activities of predators which confined size classes to particular niches and restricted all animals to nocturnal activities. Large (> 100 mm SL) exposed animals relied on shell thickness and adhesion to combat predators, while small (> 45 mm SL) sub-boulder animals and medium sized (50 - 95 mm SL) animals relied on their cryptic microhabitats and the protective spine canopies of co-resident urchins (Parechinus angulosus) for daytime protection. Populations of H. midae were discontinuously distributed along the coast, occupying small isolated reefs which offered a suitable array of microhabitats and a good food supply. They mostly inhabited shallow intertidal and subtidal reefs, but were occasionally encountered on deeper subtidal reefs at 4 - 5 meters. Mean length- and width-at-age were determined from growth rings composed of alternate conchiolin (dark) and aragonite (white) bands in the internal nacreous shell layer. Growth was described by the Special Von Bertalanffy growth equation: Lt(mm) = 176.998918 (1 - e -0.242419It + 0.495494]) Wt(mm) = 159.705689 (1 - e -0.195439It + 0.421164]) The ageing technique used was validated for animals from Great Fish Point and Mgwalana using independent tag-return data. The same data provided evidence that growth rates varied between animals from Great Fish Point and Bird Island. The growth data also showed that H. midae exhibited a high degree of individual variation in growth rate. Males and females exhibited similar growth rates. Exposed large animals showed a preference for red seaweeds, in particular Plocamium corallorhiza and Hypnea spicifera, while small sub-boulder cryptic animals included larger proportions of brown (Ralfsia expansa) and green (VIva spp.) algae in their diets. Exposed individuals also exhibited a higher degree of selectivity towards prey items, but in general, iv stomach contents reflected the most abundant seaweed types. Both drift and attached algal species were utilized by H. midae which was a nocturnal feeder. Pigments from red algae were incorporated into the shell layers giving the shells a pink or brick red colour. Haliotis midae is a dioecious broadcast spawner. Gonad Bulk Indices in combination with detailed histological examination of gonads showed that individuals were iteroparous, asynchronous spawners and that the breeding season extended from March through to October, although the peak spawning activity was between April and June. Males and females can spawn partially, totally or not at all, with atresia of residual gametes occurring after spawning. There is no resting stage, and gametogenesis is initiated directly after spawning. The structure of the ovary and testis and the process of gametogenesis is typical of haliotid species. AI: 1 sex ratio was observed from all populations studied. Sexual maturity was first attained in the 40 - 59 mm SL size class, although evidence for the smallest size at first spawning was recorded at 54.6 mm SL for females and 69 mm SL for males. Sizes at 50 % sexual maturity were 72.5 mm SL (52.8 mm SW) at Great Fish Point, 72.5 mm SL (57.4 mm SW) at Mgwalana, 73.7 mm SL (51.2 mm SW) at Cape Recife, and 73.5 mm SL (53.8 mm SW) at Kelly's Beach. Haliotis midae was typically highly fecund, although a high degree of variation resulting in poor relationships between fecundity/shelllength and gonad weightishelllength. The relationship between fecundity and gonad weight was linear. In the Eastern Cape, H. midae possessed a faster growth rate, smaller size at sexual maturity, smaller maximum size and lower longevity when compared to con specifics in Western Cape waters. A smaller minimum legal size of 93 mm SW is proposed for Eastern Cape animals and it is suggested that the closed season be moved to the peak spawning period between April and June. The benefit of a closed season during the spawning period is questioned, and the feasibility of closed areas as a management option for H. midae in the Eastern Cape is discussed. v CHAPTER 1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION The phylum Mollusca is one of approximately 20 major divisions of the Animal Kingdom (Cox 1962). The molluscs we know as abalone (peric!11oen) are dioecious, prosobranch archaeogastropods belonging to the family Haliotidac, the largest genus being Haliotis (Cotton 1959), comprising over 90 described species worldwide (Sloan & Breen 19HH). The genus has been divided into 15 subgenera with Haliotis midac Linne, 175R being recognized as the type species of the subgenus Eulzaliotis (Cotton up.