Of South Australia's Giant Cuttlefish Breeding Population
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Monitoring the relative abundance and biomass of South Australia’s Giant Cuttlefish breeding population MA Steer, S Gaylard and M Loo SARDI Publication No. F2013/000074-1 SARDI Research Report Series No. 684 FRDC TRF PROJECT NO. 2011/054 SARDI Aquatics Sciences PO Box 120 Henley Beach SA 5022 March 2013 Final Report for the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation Monitoring the relative abundance and biomass of South Australia’s Giant Cuttlefish breeding population Final Report for the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation MA Steer, S Gaylard and M Loo SARDI Publication No. F2013/000074-1 SARDI Research Report Series No. 684 FRDC TRF PROJECT NO. 2011/054 March 2013 i This publication may be cited as: Steer, M.A., Gaylard, S. and Loo, M. (2013). Monitoring the relative abundance and biomass of South Australia‟s Giant Cuttlefish breeding population. Final Report for the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation. South Australian Research and Development Institute (Aquatic Sciences), Adelaide. SARDI Publication No. F2013/000074-1. SARDI Research Report Series No. 684. 103pp. South Australian Research and Development Institute SARDI Aquatic Sciences 2 Hamra Avenue West Beach SA 5024 Telephone: (08) 8207 5400 Facsimile: (08) 8207 5406 http://www.sardi.sa.gov.au DISCLAIMER The authors warrant that they have taken all reasonable care in producing this report. The report has been through the SARDI internal review process, and has been formally approved for release by the Research Chief, Aquatic Sciences. Although all reasonable efforts have been made to ensure quality, SARDI does not warrant that the information in this report is free from errors or omissions. SARDI does not accept any liability for the contents of this report or for any consequences arising from its use or any reliance placed upon it. The SARDI Report Series is an Administrative Report Series which has not been reviewed outside the department and is not considered peer-reviewed literature. Material presented in these Administrative Reports may later be published in formal peer-reviewed scientific literature. © 2013 SARDI This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), no part may be reproduced by any process, electronic or otherwise, without the specific written permission of the copyright owner. Neither may information be stored electronically in any form whatsoever without such permission. Printed in Adelaide: March 2013 SARDI Publication No. F2013/000074-1 SARDI Research Report Series No. 684 Author(s): MA Steer, S Gaylard (EPA) and M Loo Reviewer(s): T Fowler and J Tanner Approved by: T Ward Science Leader – Fisheries Signed: Date: 20 March 2013 Distribution: FRDC, SAASC Library, University of Adelaide Library, Parliamentary Library, State Library and National Library Circulation: Public Domain ii NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY ............................................................................................... VIII ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................ XII 1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 1 1.1. Background.................................................................................................................. 1 1.2. Need ............................................................................................................................ 2 1.3. Objectives .................................................................................................................... 3 2. REFINING THE EXISTING CUTTLEFISH SURVEY METHODOLOGY .............................. 4 2.1. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 4 2.2. Site Description ............................................................................................................ 5 2.3. Habitat Characterisation............................................................................................... 8 2.3.1. Underwater Photo-Quadrat Surveys .................................................................... 9 2.3.2. Remote Video Surveys ........................................................................................ 9 2.3.3. Method Comparison ........................................................................................... 10 2.4. Cuttlefish Abundance and Biomass ............................................................................12 2.4.1. Underwater Visual Census ................................................................................. 14 2.4.2. Calibrated Remote Video Survey ....................................................................... 14 2.4.3. Method Comparison ........................................................................................... 16 2.4.3.1. Estimates of Abundance ............................................................................. 16 2.4.3.2. Estimates of Biomass ................................................................................. 18 2.4.3.3. Areal Expansion .......................................................................................... 20 2.5. Ambient Water Quality ................................................................................................21 2.5.1. Water chemistry collection ................................................................................. 22 2.6. Discussion ..................................................................................................................25 3. EXPLORING THE „CAUSE‟ OF THE CUTTLEFISH DECLINE ..........................................29 3.1. Introduction .................................................................................................................29 3.2. History of the Spawning Population ............................................................................31 3.3. Abiotic Influences ........................................................................................................34 3.3.1. Water Temperature ............................................................................................ 34 3.3.2. Onshore Wind .................................................................................................... 37 3.3.3. Rainfall ............................................................................................................... 39 3.3.4. Pollution ............................................................................................................. 40 3.3.4.1. Nutrients ................................................................................................... 41 3.3.4.2. Metal Pollutants ........................................................................................ 47 3.3.4.3. Hydrocarbons ........................................................................................... 51 3.3.5. Noise Pollution ................................................................................................... 51 iii 3.4. Biotic Influences ..........................................................................................................53 3.4.1. Predators ........................................................................................................... 53 3.4.1.1. Dolphins ................................................................................................... 54 3.4.1.2. New Zealand Fur Seals ............................................................................ 54 3.4.1.3. Snapper.................................................................................................... 56 3.4.1.4. Australian Salmon .................................................................................... 57 3.4.1.5. Yellowtail Kingfish .................................................................................... 59 3.4.2. Prey ................................................................................................................... 60 3.4.2.1. Western King Prawns ............................................................................... 61 3.4.2.1. Blue Crabs ............................................................................................... 62 3.4.3. Habitat ............................................................................................................... 63 3.4.4. Disease and Parasites ....................................................................................... 65 3.4.5. Fishing ............................................................................................................... 66 3.4.6. Tourism .............................................................................................................. 69 3.4.7. Other Cephalopods ............................................................................................ 70 3.5. Population Dynamics ..................................................................................................71 3.6. Discussion ..................................................................................................................74 4. GENERAL DISCUSSION ...................................................................................................77 4.1. Benefits and adoption .................................................................................................78 4.2. Further Development ..................................................................................................78