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Baywide Monitoring of Key Fishery Species in Seagrass Beds Sub -Program Milestone Report No. 6 (November 2010). Neil Hutchinson, Greg Jenkins and Andrew Brown February 2011 Fisheries Victoria Technical Report Series No. 128 If you would like to receive this Copyright The State of Victoria, Department of information/publication in an Primary Industries, 2011. accessible format (such as large This publication is copyright. No part may be print or audio) please call the reproduced by any process except in accordance Customer Service Centre on: with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. 136 186, TTY: 1800 122 969, Authorised by the Victorian Government, GPO Box 4440, Victoria 3001. or email Printed by Fisheries Victoria, Queenscliff, [email protected] Victoria Published: Fisheries Victoria Hutchinson, N. Jenkins, G. and Brown, A. (2011). Department of Primary Baywide Monitoring of Key Fishery Species in Industries, Queenscliff Centre Seagrass Beds Sub-Program. Milestone Report PO Box 114, Queenscliff, Victoria No. 6 (November 2010). Fisheries Victoria 3225 Australia. Technical Report Series No. 128, February 2011, Department of Primary Industries, Queenscliff, Victoria, Australia. 37pp General disclaimer This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not ISSN 1835-4785 guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your ISBN 978-1-74264-698-5 particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. Baywide Monitoring of Key Fishery Species in Seagrass Beds Milestone Report #6 ii Executive Summary The objective of the Monitoring Key Fishery In shallow seagrass at Blairgowrie, significantly Species in Seagrass Beds Sub-Program is to fewer fish were sampled in spring 2010 than collect data on the types and abundance of fish autumn 2010 while no significant differences in shallow and deeper seagrass beds that will fill were apparent at Mud Islands or St Leonards. In existing knowledge gaps and assist in deep seagrass at St Leonards, significantly fewer understanding the significance of any observed fish were sampled in spring 2010 than spring changes in seagrass habitat for these fish. 2009 but no significant differences were apparent at Blairgowrie or Mud Islands. Surveys are undertaken to compare the distribution and abundance of fish in shallow (< 1 m) and deeper (2–8 m) seagrass beds in Fish size three areas of PPB. These surveys are conducted Size frequencies of finfish varied significantly in spring and autumn each year and results are but inconsistently between dates, and between analysed to compare against results for the deep and shallow seagrass beds, with a higher preceding seasonal survey and for the same proportion of larger fish collected in spring 2010 seasonal survey 12 months prior. Specific recorded in deep seagrass. comparisons are made between regions and depths for species richness, fish abundance, Assemblage structure length frequency distribution and fish The greatest difference in fish assemblage assemblage structure. structure during spring 2010 was between deep Sampling of fish in shallow and deep water and shallow seagrass beds. Fish assemblage seagrass beds was completed successfully at the structure also varied significantly with time, and Blairgowrie, Mud Islands and St Leonards sites was significantly different between spring 2010 in spring (November) 2010. A total of 39 fish and autumn 2010 in both shallow and deep species (37 finfish, one ray and one squid) from seagrass beds, and between spring 2010 and 21 families (19 families for finfish, one family for spring 2009 in shallow seagrass beds only. ray and one family for squid) were sampled from all sites. Conclusions Results from spring 2010 sampling continue to Species richness and fish show that shallow and deep seagrass beds in abundance PPB have distinct fish assemblages. As with previous sampling events from this sub- Species richness was significantly higher in program, shallow seagrass beds tend to be shallow seagrass compared with deep seagrass dominated by small, schooling species that do in spring 2010 at Blairgowrie, Mud Islands and not occur in deeper seagrass. Seasonal patterns St Leonards. of change in assemblage structure can now be In deep seagrass beds at St Leonards, species clearly seen, partly due to distinct population richness was lower in spring 2010 than spring changes in species such as bridled leatherjackets 2009, but not different to autumn 2010. There in deep and shallow seagrass beds, wide-body were no significant differences in species pipefish in both deep and shallow seagrass beds, richness at this site in shallow seagrass beds and the seasonal presence of King George between spring 2010 and the two previous whiting in shallow seagrass beds. A positive seasons. There were no significant differences in relationship between seagrass biomass/length species richness between spring 2010 and the and fish abundance/species richness also previous two seasons at either depth at continues to be apparent. Blairgowrie or Mud Islands. In general, based on previous studies, variability Fish abundances were significantly higher in in fish assemblages in shallow and deep shallow seagrass compared with deep seagrass seagrass beds during the spring 2010 reporting in spring 2010 at Mud Islands and St Leonards, period was within what would be expected in but not at Blairgowrie. PPB. Baywide Monitoring of Key Fishery Species in Seagrass Beds Milestone Report #6 iii Table of Contents Executive Summary............................................................................................. iii Species richness and fish abundance...................................................................................................................iii Fish size .....................................................................................................................................................................iii Assemblage structure..............................................................................................................................................iii Conclusions...............................................................................................................................................................iii Introduction............................................................................................................ 1 Purpose of this report................................................................................................................................................1 Materials and Methods......................................................................................... 2 Statistical model ......................................................................................................................................................2 Definitions ..................................................................................................................................................................2 Data Management......................................................................................................................................................2 QA/QC......................................................................................................................................................................2 Results...................................................................................................................... 4 Species Richness......................................................................................................................................................4 Fish Abundance ......................................................................................................................................................4 Wide-body pipefish ................................................................................................................................................4 Fish Size....................................................................................................................................................................5 Fish and Seagrass....................................................................................................................................................5 Fish assemblage structure......................................................................................................................................5 Discussion............................................................................................................... 6 Conclusions.................................................................................................................................................................7 Acknowledgements............................................................................................... 8 References ............................................................................................................... 9 Appendix 1 Results ............................................................................................. 11 Species Richness....................................................................................................................................................11 Fish Abundance ....................................................................................................................................................11