SARDI Report Series Is an Administrative Report Series Which Has Not Been Reviewed Outside the Department and Is Not Considered Peer-Reviewed Literature

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

SARDI Report Series Is an Administrative Report Series Which Has Not Been Reviewed Outside the Department and Is Not Considered Peer-Reviewed Literature Seagrass Biodiversity Surveys in Yankalilla Bay Jason Tanner and Mandee Theil SARDI Publication No. F2016/000099-1 SARDI Research Report Series No. 890 SARDI Aquatics Sciences PO Box 120 Henley Beach SA 5022 April 2016 Final report prepared for the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board Tanner, J. & Theil, M. (2016) Yankalilla Seagrass Biodiversity Seagrass Biodiversity Surveys in Yankalilla Bay Final report prepared for the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board Jason Tanner and Mandee Theil SARDI Publication No. F2016/000099-1 SARDI Research Report Series No. 890 April 2016 II Tanner, J. & Theil, M. (2016) Yankalilla Seagrass Biodiversity This publication may be cited as: Tanner, J.E., and Theil, M.J. (2016). Seagrass biodiversity surveys in Yankalilla Bay. Final report prepared for the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board. South Australian Research and Development Institute (Aquatic Sciences), Adelaide. SARDI Publication No. F2016/000099-1. SARDI Research Report Series No. 890. 33pp. 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.pir.sa.gov.au/research 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. © 2016 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: April 2016 SARDI Publication No. F2016/000099-1 SARDI Research Report Series No. 890 Author(s): Jason Tanner and Mandee Theil Reviewer(s): Kathryn Wiltshire and Ana Redondo Rodriguez Approved by: A/Prof Qifeng Ye Science Leader – Inland Waters & Catchment Ecology Signed: Date: 5 April 2016 Distribution: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board, SAASC Library, University of Adelaide Library, Parliamentary Library, State Library and National Library Circulation: Public Domain III Tanner, J. & Theil, M. (2016) Yankalilla Seagrass Biodiversity TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................... V LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................ VII ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................. VIII EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................... 1 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 2 1.1. Background............................................................................................................. 2 1.2. Objectives ............................................................................................................... 3 2. METHODS ..................................................................................................................... 4 2.1. Site selection .......................................................................................................... 4 2.2. Fauna and Flora Survey.......................................................................................... 6 2.3. Data analysis .......................................................................................................... 7 3. RESULTS ...................................................................................................................... 9 3.1. Seagrass structure and habitat condition ................................................................ 9 3.2. Infauna .................................................................................................................. 11 3.3. Epifauna ............................................................................................................... 16 3.4. Fish and Larger Invertebrates ............................................................................... 20 4. DISCUSSION .............................................................................................................. 23 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................... 27 APPENDIX 1: INFAUNAL TAXA COLLECTED AT YANKALILLA BAY. NUMBERS ARE THE SUM OVER 8 CORES ON EACH TRANSECT. .................................................................. 29 APPENDIX 2: EPIFAUNAL TAXA COLLECTED AT YANKALILLA BAY. NUMBERS ARE THE SUM OVER 8 CORES ON EACH TRANSECT. .................................................................. 31 APPENDIX 3: LARGE INVERTEBRATES COLLECTED AT YANKALILLA BAY. NUMBERS ARE THE TOTAL NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS/COLONIES ON EACH 50 M TRANSECT.. 33 IV Tanner, J. & Theil, M. (2016) Yankalilla Seagrass Biodiversity LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Map of Yankalilla Bay showing the 2009 mega-transect lines (red) and the 2015 transects (blue) surveyed for seagrass fauna, overlaid on broader scale DEWNR habitat mapping. ............................................................................................................................... 5 Figure 2: Dendrogram showing the results of an average linkage hierarchical cluster analysis on habitat cover along line intercept transects in Yankalilla Bay. Horizontal line indicates groupings at a similarity of 55% (A - Amphibolis, M - Mixed seagrass, P - Posidonia). .......... 9 Figure 3: Principal coordinates analysis of seagrass structural characteristics (SGdw – Seagrass dry weight, Epidw – Epiphyte dry weight). ........................................................... 11 Figure 4. Infaunal abundance (upper panel) and taxonomic richness (lower panel) in different habitats in Yankalilla Bay. A - Amphibolis, M - Mixed Amphibolis and Posidonia, P - Posidonia, S - Sand. ............................................................................................................................. 12 Figure 5: Canonical analysis of principal coordinates plot showing discrimination between infaunal assemblages in different habitats in Yankalilla Bay. A - Amphibolis, M - Mixed Amphibolis and Posidonia, P - Posidonia, S - Sand. Biplot on right shows taxa with correlations >0.5 (taxa in the lower left are Ophiuroidea, Nematoda, Syllidae, Glyceridae and Hesionidae). ........................................................................................................................ 13 Figure 6: Species accumulation curves (solid symbols) and predicted total number of taxa using the Chao 2 estimator (hollow symbols) for infauna in Yankalilla Bay. ......................... 14 Figure 7: Typical examples of infauna found at Yankalilla Bay. From left to right and top to bottom: Amphipods – Ampithoinae, Aoridae, Lysianassidae, Phoxocephalidae; Isopod – Janiridae; Ostracod – Cylindroleberididae; Polychaetes – Clyceridae, Hesionidae, Nereididae, Opheliidae, Spionidae. ........................................................................................................ 15 Figure 8: Epifaunal abundance (upper panel) and taxonomic richness (lower panel) in different habitats in Yankalilla Bay. A - Amphibolis, M - Mixed Amphibolis and Posidonia, P - Posidonia. ........................................................................................................................... 16 Figure 9: Canonical analysis of principal coordinates plot showing discrimination between epifaunal assemblages in different habitats in Yankalilla Bay. A - Amphibolis, M - Mixed Amphibolis and Posidonia, P - Posidonia. Biplot on right shows taxa with correlations >0.6 (obscured taxa on the left are Lysianassidae, Nereididae and Syllidae). ............................. 17 Figure 10: Species accumulation curves (solid symbols) and predicted total number of taxa using the Chao 2 estimator (hollow symbols) for epifauna in Yankalilla Bay. ....................... 18 Figure 11: Typical examples of epifauna found at Yankalilla Bay. From left to right and top to bottom: Amphipods – Aoridae, Maeridae; Isopods – Anthuridae, Cirolanidae Janiridae; Tanaid – Leptochelidae; Pycnogonid; Polychaetes – Dorvilleidae, Nereididae, Syllidae; Mollusacs – Ischnochitonidae, Trochidae. .............................................................................................. 19 V Tanner, J. & Theil, M. (2016) Yankalilla Seagrass Biodiversity Figure 12: Large Invertebrate abundance (upper panel) and taxonomic richness (lower panel) in different habitats in Yankalilla
Recommended publications
  • And Long-Term Movement Patterns of Six Temperate Reef Fishes (Families Labridae and Monacanthidae)
    Mar: Freshwater Res., 1995,46, 853-60 Short- and Long-term Movement Patterns of Six Temperate Reef Fishes (Families Labridae and Monacanthidae) Neville S. Barrett Zoology Department, University of Tasmania, GPO Box 252C Hobart, Tas. 7001, Australia. Abstract. Movement patterns were studied on a 1-ha isolated reef surrounding Arch Rock in southern Tasmania. Short-term movements were identified from diver observations, and interpretation of long-term movements involved multiple recaptures of tagged individuals. Visual observations indicated that the sex-changing labrids Notolabrus tetricus, Pictilabrus laticlavius and Pseudolabrus psittaculus were all site-attached, with females having overlapping home ranges and males being territorial. In the non-sex-changing labrid Notolabrus fucicola and in the monacanthids Penicipelta vittiger and Meuschenia australis, there was no evidence of territorial behaviour and I-h movements were in excess of the scale of the study. The long-term results indicated that all species were permanent reef residents, with most individuals of all species except M. australis always being recaptured within a home range of 100 m X 25 m or less. Only 15% of individuals of M. australis were always recaptured within this range category. The natural habitat boundary of open sand between the Arch Rock reef and adjacent reefs appeared to be an effective deterrent to emigration. The use of natural boundaries should be an important consideration in the design of marine reserves where the aim is to minimize the loss of protected species to adjacent fished areas. Introduction associated with using SCUBA in colder waters with low Most tropical reef fishes are now regarded as sedentary, visibility.
    [Show full text]
  • Offshore Marine Habitat Mapping and Near-Shore Marine Biodiversity Within the Coorong Bioregion
    Offshore Marine Habitat Mapping and Near-shore Marine Biodiversity within the Coorong Bioregion A report for the SA Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resource Management Board by the Department for Environment and Heritage, 2006. Authors: Jodie Haig (University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA) Bayden Russell (University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA) Sue Murray-Jones (Coastal Protection Branch, Department for Environment and Heritage, SA) Acknowledgements Our thanks to all the following: Field Research Staff (in alphabetical order): Alison Bloomfield, Ben Brayford, James Brook, Alistair Hirst, Timothy Kildea, Hugh Kirkman, Sue Murray-Jones, Bayden Russell, David Wiltshire. Benthic Fauna Identification: SA Museum: Thierry Laperousaz, Shirley Sorokin, Greg Rouse & Karen Gowlett-Holmes Algae Identification: SA Herbarium: Professor Bryan Womersley and staff Texture mapping: Bob Lange (3D Marine Mapping) Seagrass Identification: Hugh Kirkman Echoview data analysis: Myounghee Kang (SonarData) GIS technical support: Alison Wright (Coast and Marine Conservation Branch, Department for Environment and Heritage) Funding: SA Murray-Darling Basin NRM Board This document may be cited as: Haig, J., Russell, B. and Murray-Jones, S. (2006) Offshore marine habitat mapping and near-shore marine biodiversity within the Coorong bioregion. A report for the SA Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resource Management Board. Department for Environment and Heritage, Adelaide. Pp 74. ISBN 1 921018 23 2. © COPYRIGHT: The concepts and information contained in this document are the property
    [Show full text]
  • Differences Between Underwater Visual Census and Baited Remote Underwater Video
    Vol. 400: 19–36, 2010 MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES Published February 11 doi: 10.3354/meps08377 Mar Ecol Prog Ser A comparison of two survey methods: differences between underwater visual census and baited remote underwater video Madhavi A. Colton*, Stephen E. Swearer Department of Zoology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia ABSTRACT: Essential to any model, conservation or management plan are measures of the distribu- tion and abundance of a species. Countless methods for estimating these parameters exist, making it essential to assess the limitations and biases associated with a particular sampling protocol. Here, we compare between 2 methods commonly used to survey nearshore fish assemblages. Although most commonly employed, underwater visual census (UVC) may yield biased estimates of abundance depending on the strength of a fish’s behavioural response (i.e. avoidance, attraction) to the presence of divers. Baited remote underwater video (BRUV) techniques have shown promise in overcoming some of the limitations of UVC, but are unable to provide an absolute measure of density in turbulent environments. We compare the abilities of these 2 methods to survey the nearshore rocky reef ichthy- ofauna of Southeast Australia. We found that relative to BRUV, UVC recorded more individuals (in terms of all species, herbivores, cryptic species, and most territorial species), higher richness at both the species and family level, and higher biodiversity as measured using the Shannon Index. These findings remain even when the data were adjusted for differences in sampling effort. In contrast, BRUV recorded proportionally more mobile predators, and a more taxonomically distinct population, though only when taxonomic evenness was not taken into account.
    [Show full text]
  • Marine Ecology Progress Series 506:213
    Vol. 506: 213–229, 2014 MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES Published June 23 doi: 10.3354/meps10788 Mar Ecol Prog Ser Understanding community−habitat associations of temperate reef fishes using fine-resolution bathymetric measures of physical structure Matthew J. Cameron*, Vanessa Lucieer, Neville S. Barrett, Craig R. Johnson, Graham J. Edgar Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania, 20 Castray Esplanade, Battery Point, TAS 7004, Australia ABSTRACT: Multibeam sonar (MBS) hydro-acoustic technology allows for inexpensive, broad- scale, fine-resolution assessment of marine fish habitats. Parallel advancements in geographic information systems and new analytical techniques are providing researchers with the ability to generate informative surrogate predictors of biodiversity and species responses. The aim of this study was to determine whether fine-scale bathymetric derivatives of MBS survey data could be effectively applied as surrogates to explain spatial patterns in reef fish diversity and species−habitat relationships. In the absence of direct metrics of habitat, these derivatives might prove to be effective tools for marine spatial planning. Species−habitat relationships were exam- ined across a marine reserve on the south-eastern coast of Tasmania at fine spatial scales using boosted regression tree analyses. The most important explanatory variables of community diver- sity were those describing the degree of reef aspect deviation from east and south (seemingly as a proxy for swell exposure), reef bathymetry (depth), plane and slope. Models could account for up to 30% of the spatial variability in measures of species diversity. Responses in species abundance and occurrence to habitat structure appeared to be largely species-specific at the scales investi- gated.
    [Show full text]
  • UNCOMMON, CRYPTIC and SITE-ASSOCIATED REEF FISHES: RESULTS of SURVEYS ALONG FLEURIEU PENINSULA & in ENCOUNTER BAY 2009
    UNCOMMON, CRYPTIC and SITE-ASSOCIATED REEF FISHES: RESULTS OF SURVEYS ALONG FLEURIEU PENINSULA & IN ENCOUNTER BAY 2009 J. Baker1, H. Crawford2, D. Muirhead3, S. Shepherd4, J. Brook5, A. Brown6, and C. Hall3 1 J.L. Baker, Marine Ecologist, Somerton Park, SA, 5044. Email: [email protected] 2 H. Crawford, Visual Artist [email protected] 3 Marine Life Society of South Australia (MLSSA) 4Senior Research Fellow, SARDI Aquatic Sciences PO Box 120 Henley Beach SA 5022 5 PO Box 111, Normanville, SA. 5204 6 Dept for Environment and Heritage, GPO Box 1047, Adelaide SA 5011 Photo: J. Baker Report for: Adelaide and Mt Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board August 2009 UNCOMMON, CRYPTIC and SITE-ASSOCIATED REEF FISHES: RESULTS OF SURVEYS ALONG FLEURIEU PENINSULA & IN ENCOUNTER BAY 2009 SUMMARY Reef locations along the Fleurieu Peninsula and Encounter Bay were surveyed by diving and snorkelling, from December 2008 to June 2009. The surveys are part of a series we began in 2007, through which we have aimed to (i) develop a suitable non-destructive technique to search for various uncommon reef fishes (mostly benthic, and many cryptic) throughout South Australia; and (ii) record and photograph such fishes, in order to learn more about their distribution, habitats, and habits. Our target list comprises more than 50 species from 14 families, for which little information is available on full distribution within South Australia, and habitat. Examples of our records during the 2009 survey period included (i) one uncommonly recorded endemic
    [Show full text]
  • Bayesian Node Dating Based on Probabilities of Fossil Sampling Supports Trans-Atlantic Dispersal of Cichlid Fishes
    Supporting Information Bayesian Node Dating based on Probabilities of Fossil Sampling Supports Trans-Atlantic Dispersal of Cichlid Fishes Michael Matschiner,1,2y Zuzana Musilov´a,2,3 Julia M. I. Barth,1 Zuzana Starostov´a,3 Walter Salzburger,1,2 Mike Steel,4 and Remco Bouckaert5,6y Addresses: 1Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway 2Zoological Institute, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland 3Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic 4Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand 5Department of Computer Science, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand 6Computational Evolution Group, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand yCorresponding author: E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] 1 Supplementary Text 1 1 Supplementary Text Supplementary Text S1: Sequencing protocols. Mitochondrial genomes of 26 cichlid species were amplified by long-range PCR followed by the 454 pyrosequencing on a GS Roche Junior platform. The primers for long-range PCR were designed specifically in the mitogenomic regions with low interspecific variability. The whole mitogenome of most species was amplified as three fragments using the following primer sets: for the region between position 2 500 bp and 7 300 bp (of mitogenome starting with tRNA-Phe), we used forward primers ZM2500F (5'-ACG ACC TCG ATG TTG GAT CAG GAC ATC C-3'), L2508KAW (Kawaguchi et al. 2001) or S-LA-16SF (Miya & Nishida 2000) and reverse primer ZM7350R (5'-TTA AGG CGT GGT CGT GGA AGT GAA GAA G-3'). The region between 7 300 bp and 12 300 bp was amplified using primers ZM7300F (5'-GCA CAT CCC TCC CAA CTA GGW TTT CAA GAT GC-3') and ZM12300R (5'-TTG CAC CAA GAG TTT TTG GTT CCT AAG ACC-3').
    [Show full text]
  • The Fish Communities and Main Fish Populations of the Jurien Bay Marine Park
    The fish communities and main fish populations of the Jurien Bay Marine Park Fairclough, D.V., Potter, I.C., Lek, E., Bivoltsis, A.K. and Babcock, R.C. Strategic Research Fund for the Marine Environment Collaborative Research Project Final Report May 2011 2 The fish communities and main fish populations of the Jurien Bay Marine Park Fairclough, D.V. Potter, I.C. Lek, E. Bivoltsis, A.K. Babcock, R.C. May 2011 Centre for Fish and Fisheries Research Murdoch University, South Street, Murdoch Western Australia 6150 ISBN: 978-0-86905-999-9 This work is copyright. Except as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), no part of this publication may be reproduced by any process, electronic or otherwise, without the specific written permission of the copyright owners. Neither may information be stored electronically in any form whatsoever without such permission. 3 4 Table of Contents 1.0 Executive Summary...........................................................................................................v 2.0 Acknowledgements ..........................................................................................................vii 3.0 General Introduction.........................................................................................................1 3.1 Marine protected areas.....................................................................................................1 3.1.1 Fisheries management goals .....................................................................................1 3.1.2 Indirect effects of MPAs...........................................................................................2
    [Show full text]
  • Towards a System of Ecologically Representative Marine Protected
    10 Notes on Current Protection and Management within Recommended Areas _____ 452 10.1 Nuyts Archipelago, St Francis Isles and Coastal Embayments (Murat Bioregion) ____________452 10.2 Baird Bay to Cape Bauer (including nearshore islands) (Murat/Eyre Bioregions Boundary) ___453 10.3 Venus Bay and Surrounds (Eyre Bioregion) ___________________________________________453 10.4 Investigator Group of Islands (Eyre Bioregion) ________________________________________454 10.5 Thorny Passage (Eyre Bioregion) ____________________________________________________455 10.6 Sir Joseph Banks Group and Dangerous Reef (including Tumby Bay) (Eyre Bioregion) ______455 10.7 Neptune Islands Group (Eyre Bioregion) _____________________________________________456 10.8 Gambier Islands Group (Eyre Bioregion) _____________________________________________456 10.9 Franklin Harbor and Surrounding Waters (Spencer Gulf/North Spencer Gulf Bioregions Boundary) ___________________________________________________________________________457 10.10 Upper Spencer Gulf (North Spencer Gulf Bioregion)___________________________________457 10.11 South-Eastern Spencer Gulf (Spencer Gulf Bioregion) _________________________________459 10.12 Western Investigator Strait, between the “Toe” of Yorke Peninsula and Northern Kangaroo Island (Eyre/Gulf St Vincent Biregion Boundary)___________________________________________460 10.13 North-Western, Western and South-Western Kangaroo Island (Eyre Region)______________461 10.14 Southern Eyre (Eyre Bioregion) ____________________________________________________461
    [Show full text]
  • Early Life-History, Settlement Dynamics and Growth of The
    • ,... t/.J:~40:Jf·iljj.;p11e ·eil£t coast aj· T«ts:lJiiini'ii:i\~~:::<:;'.·_. ' , <'" } ,.' ' ' ';.,. ... ~, ~ ... "" ,, ,.-;.~h', '<::..... ..._,"" ,,.,, > ... ,,:;~, , r ,< ,f' ~, '' < } ' ' ,, ', ,,, .... ~ ,::.",\" ,' ;";' ' ' ? ' ', ~· ,, ··' )'" "'subi:nitted. iri .,, '" ' '•,' /~ ' ' _·'Tasmanian Aqciaculture and Fisheries Institute-~,School o{Zo.plbgy, ', ~ ' - • ' " < Uniyersity·of Tasmania., ~ TNw-~ vJIElSFo/lt> f h. D. zoo ~ ll Declarations I hereby declare that this thesis is my own work, except where due acknowledgement is given, and that the material presented here has not been submitted at another university for the award of any other degree or diploma. This thesis may be made available for loan and limited copying in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. ,. Dirk Cameron Welsford November 2003 iii [ iv Table of Contents DECLARATIONS •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• III TABLE OF' CONTENTS •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• v FIGURES AND TABLES •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• IX ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• XIV ABSTRA.CT ••••• ••••• •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 1 1. INTRODUCTION: THE ECOLOGY OF TEMPERATE WRASSES ........................... 4 Wrasse diversity .............................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • THE EFFECT of SEWAGE EFFLUENT on ROCKY REEF FISH in NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA. Adam Kingsley Smith a Thesis for the Degree of D
    THE EFFECT OF SEWAGE EFFLUENT ON ROCKY REEF FISH IN NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA. Adam Kingsley Smith A thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, University of New South Wales, 1998. U N S W 2 1 SEP 201)0 LIBRARY TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i ABSTRACT ii LIST OF TABLES iv LIST OF FIGURES xi CHAPTER 1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1 SEWAGE OUTFALLS IN NSW 1 TEMPERATE ROCKY REEF FISH IN NSW 3 THE IMPACTS OF SEWAGE POLLUTION ON FISH 5 OUTLINE OF RESEARCH 6 PUBLICATION OF RESULTS 7 REFERENCES 8 CHAPTER 2. IMPACTS OF SEWAGE POLLUTION ON AQUATIC HABITATS, FISH AND FISHERIES - A REVIEW 17 ABSTRACT 17 INTRODUCTION 18 OVERVIEW OF LARGE-SCALE IMPACTS OF SEWAGE POLLUTION 20 IMPACTS OF SEWAGE DISPOSAL ON AQUATIC HABITATS 20 Physico-chemical impacts on water 21 Soft sediment biota and habitats 22 2 Rock and coral habitats 23 Vegetated biota and habitats 23 IMPACTS OF SEWAGE DISPOSAL ON FISH 25 Mortality of fish 26 Physiological effects on fish 27 Effects on fish communities 28 IMPACTS OF SEWAGE DISPOSAL ON FISHERIES 29 Commercial and recreational fisheries 29 Aquaculture 32 CASE STUDY- SEWAGE OUTFALLS IN NSW, AUSTRALIA 33 Description 33 Monitoring 33 Detection of effects 34 Reporting 34 Management of the environmental health 34 RESEARCH ISSUES 35 Recommended research to detect impacts of sewage pollution 37 Aquatic habitats 37 Fish 37 Fisheries 37 MANAGEMENT ISSUES 38 CONCLUSIONS 40 REFERENCES 41 3 CHAPTER 3. A BASELINE SURVEY OF FISH AND MACROBENTHIC ASSEMBLAGES AT TWO SEWAGE OUTFALLS IN THE ILLAWARRA COASTAL ZONE 56 ABSTRACT 56 INTRODUCTION 57 Ecology of fish and macrobenthos from rocky reefs 57 Impacts of sewage on fish and macrobenthos 59 METHODS 60 Site descriptions 60 Bellambi study 61 Port Kembla study 61 Survey methodology 61 Analysis of fish 63 Analysis of macrobethos 64 RESULTS 64 Fish assemblages in the Bellambi study 64 Fish assemblages in the Port Kembla study 64 Macrobenthic assemblages in the Bellambi study 65 Macrobenthic assemblages in the Port Kembla study 66 DISCUSSION 66 REFERENCES 69 4 CHAPTER 4.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 3: Spatial & Temporal Variation in Labrid Assemblages
    The final publication of this paper is available at www.publish.csiro.au/paper/MF10315.htm Morton JK and Gladstone W (2011) Spatial, temporal and ontogenetic variation in the association of fishes (family Labridae) with rocky-reef habitats. Marine and Freshwater Research 62: 870-884. DOI: 1323-1650/11/070870 Spatial, temporal and ontogenetic variation in the association of fishes (family Labridae) with rocky reef habitats. Authors Jason K. Morton1,2* and William Gladstone1,3 Addresses 1School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle (Ourimbah Campus), PO Box 127, Ourimbah NSW 2258, Australia 2Current address: School of Science and Mathematics, Avondale College, PO Box 19, Cooranbong NSW 2265, Australia 3Current address: School of the Environment, University of Technology, Sydney, PO Box 123, Broadway NSW 2007, Australia *Corresponding author: School of Science and Mathematics, Avondale College, PO Box 19, Cooranbong NSW 2265, Australia; Email: [email protected]; 0249 802 220 (wk), 0249 802 219 (fax) Keywords: fish distribution, ontogeny, labrid, habitat partitioning Running title: Association of wrasses with rocky reef habitats 1 Abstract Habitat variability is an important factor structuring fish assemblages of rocky reefs in temperate Australia. Accepting the generality of this model requires that habitat-related variation is consistent through time, across multiple spatial scales, and applies to all life history stages. We used repeated underwater visual surveys at multiple spatial scales over a 22-month period to test whether three distinct rocky reef habitats had different wrasse assemblages and whether these assemblages were subject to spatial, temporal and ontogenetic variability. Overall, the strongest and most consistent habitat association was with sponge gardens, which had the most distinct assemblage, and the greatest species richness and density of individuals.
    [Show full text]
  • The Composition of Continental Shelf and Slope Demersal Fish: the Effects of Depth and Latitude
    Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Molecular and Life Sciences The Composition of Continental Shelf and Slope Demersal Fish: The Effects of Depth and Latitude Claire Margaret Wellington This thesis is presented for the Degree of Master of Philosophy (Environment & Agriculture) Of Curtin University November 2019 Declaration To the best of my knowledge and belief, this thesis contains no material previously published by any other person except where due acknowledgement has been made. This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university. The research presented and reported in this thesis was conducted in compliance with the Australian Code of Practice for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes (7th edition, 2004). The proposed research study received animal ethics approval from the University of Western Australia Animal Ethics Committee, Approval reference RA/3/100/1107 and RA/3/100/1051. Date: 11th November 2019 i Abstract In Western Australia (WA), deepwater fishes are targeted by commercial and recreational fishers. Deepwater fisheries (~170-700 m) represent a large proportion of the market value of WA fisheries, consequently, impacts to these assemblages will have far-reaching economic and potentially long-lasting ecological effects. There is little information on the status, habitat use, and depth preferences of deepwater species or their connectivity to inshore habitats. Sustainable management requires an understanding of the dynamics of deepwater fisheries and the factors underpinning their structure and distribution. Because assessments of deepwater ecosystems are logistically challenging, time-consuming and expensive (the requirement for boats big enough to deploy and retrieve sampling equipment to depth), they tend to be data deficient.
    [Show full text]