Understanding the Ecological Role of Abalone in the Reef Ecosystem of Victoria
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Understanding the ecological role of abalone in the reef ecosystem of Victoria Paul A. Hamer, Gregory P. Jenkins, Brent A. Womersley, Kade A. Mills Project No. 2006/040 FRDC Report 2006/040 Understanding the ecological role of abalone in the reef ecosystem of Victoria Paul A. Hamer, Gregory P. Jenkins, Brent A. Womersley, Kade A. Mills Fisheries Research Branch, Fisheries Victoria, DPI Queenscliff Centre, P.O. Box 114, Queenscliff Vic. 3225 May 2010 2006/040 FRDC Report 2006/040 © Fisheries Research and Development Corporation and Department of Primary Industries, Victoria, 2010 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. ISBN 978‐1‐74217‐916‐2 Preferred way to cite: Hamer, P.A., Jenkins, G.P., Womersley, B.A., and Mills, K.A. (2010). Understanding the ecological role of abalone in the reef ecosystem of Victoria. Final report to Fisheries Research and Development Corporation. Project No. 2006/040. Department of Primary Industries, Queenscliff. 132 pages. Published by Fisheries Victoria, Department of Primary Industries, Queenscliff Centre, P.O. Box 114, Queenscliff, Victoria 3225 Australia. Formatted/designed by Fisheries Victoria, Queenscliff Printed by Fisheries Victoria Queenscliff, Victoria DISCLAIMER The authors do not warrant that the information in this document is free from errors or omissions. The authors do not accept any form of liability, be it contractual, tortious, or otherwise, for the contents of this document or for any consequences arising from its use or any reliance placed upon it. The information, opinions and advice contained in this document may not relate, or be relevant, to a readers particular circumstances. Opinions expressed by the authors are the individual opinions expressed by those persons and are not necessarily those of the publisher, research provider or the FRDC. The Fisheries Research and Development Corporation plans, invests in and manages fisheries research and development throughout Australia. It is a statutory authority within the portfolio of the federal Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, jointly funded by the Australian Government and the fishing industry. Abalone ecology in Victoria ii FRDC Report 2006/040 Table of Contents Understanding the ecological role of abalone in the reef ecosystem of Victoria .................................................................................................................... 1 NON‐TECHNICAL SUMMARY........................................................................ 1 Acknowledgments................................................................................................. 5 Background............................................................................................................. 6 Need ......................................................................................................................... 7 Objectives................................................................................................................ 7 Chapter 1: Use of fixed photoquadrats to track changes in benthic reef communities after removal of abalone ............................................................. 8 Introduction............................................................................................................ 8 Methods................................................................................................................. 11 Study locations.........................................................................................................................................................11 Removal experiment.............................................................................................................................................12 Photoquadrats .......................................................................................................................................................14 Data analysis..........................................................................................................................................................18 Results.................................................................................................................... 20 Cape Schanck............................................................................................................................................................20 Exploratory analysis of variation between abalone abundance and benthic community categories .......20 Removal experiment.............................................................................................................................................23 Cape Nelson..............................................................................................................................................................43 Exploratory analysis of variation between abalone abundance and benthic community categories .......43 Removal experiment.............................................................................................................................................46 Mallacoota.................................................................................................................................................................64 Exploratory analysis of variation between abalone abundance and benthic community categories .......64 Removal experiment.............................................................................................................................................66 Abalone ecology in Victoria iii FRDC Report 2006/040 Discussion............................................................................................................. 84 Success of removal experiments........................................................................................................................... 84 Response of epibenthic communties to abalone removal............................................................................... 85 Epibenthic communities as ecological indicators for management of the abalone fishery...................... 91 Chapter 2: Importance of abalone in the diet of Reef fish.......................... 94 Introduction.......................................................................................................... 94 Methods................................................................................................................. 95 Sampling Sites......................................................................................................................................................... 95 Field methods .......................................................................................................................................................... 95 Reef fish ................................................................................................................................................................. 95 Port Jackson sharks .............................................................................................................................................. 95 Laboratory methods................................................................................................................................................ 95 Reef fish ................................................................................................................................................................. 95 Port Jackson sharks .............................................................................................................................................. 95 Data analysis............................................................................................................................................................ 96 Results.................................................................................................................... 97 Reef Fish Diets......................................................................................................................................................... 97 Multivariate diet analysis.................................................................................................................................. 105 Port Jackson Shark Diet ....................................................................................................................................... 108 Multivariate diet analysis.................................................................................................................................. 113 Discussion........................................................................................................... 115 Benefits................................................................................................................ 118 Further Development ....................................................................................... 118 Planned Outcomes ............................................................................................ 118 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 119 References ........................................................................................................... 120