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The Fish Fauna of the Vasse-Wonnerup and the Impact of a Substantial Fish Kill Event

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The Fish Fauna of the Vasse-Wonnerup and the Impact of a Substantial Fish Kill Event The fish fauna of the Vasse-Wonnerup and the impact of a substantial fish kill event Tweedley, J.R., Keleher, J., Cottingham, A., Beatty, S.J. & Lymbery, A.J. Centre for Fish and Fisheries Research, Murdoch University July 2014 Cover photos: Photographs of the Deadwater taken during the day and night in November 2013 (Photo James Tweedley). A flock of Australian Shelducks on the Vasse-Wonnerup: a Ramsar listed wetland of international importance. (Photo James Tweedley). Table of Contents Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ 1 Community Friendly Summary ....................................................................................................... 4 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 6 Materials and Methods .................................................................................................................. 8 Sampling regime ......................................................................................................................... 8 Life cycle category and guild ...................................................................................................... 11 Statistical analyses .................................................................................................................... 12 Nearshore fish fauna ............................................................................................................. 12 Offshore fish fauna ................................................................................................................ 15 Temporal changes in the abundance of Black Bream ............................................................. 16 Biological characteristics of Black Bream ................................................................................... 17 Results .......................................................................................................................................... 19 Water quality ............................................................................................................................ 19 Nearshore fish fauna ................................................................................................................. 21 Overall number of species, density and life cycle category among regions ............................. 21 Numbers of species and density............................................................................................. 24 Spatial changes in fish faunal composition ............................................................................ 26 Overall number of species, density and life cycle category among seasons and years............. 39 Temporal changes in fish faunal composition ........................................................................ 42 Offshore fish fauna .................................................................................................................... 54 Spatial and temporal trends in the number of species and catch rates ................................... 54 Spatial and temporal trends in species composition ............................................................... 55 Black Bream .............................................................................................................................. 58 Temporal changes in the abundance of Black Bream in nearshore waters ............................. 58 Preliminary analysis of the biological characteristics of Black Bream ..................................... 60 Discussion ..................................................................................................................................... 65 Water quality ............................................................................................................................ 65 Salinity and water temperature ............................................................................................. 65 Dissolved oxygen concentration ............................................................................................ 67 Nearshore fish fauna ................................................................................................................. 68 Number of species and density .............................................................................................. 68 Spatial changes in fish faunal composition ............................................................................ 70 Temporal changes in fish faunal composition ........................................................................ 73 Spatial and temporal changes the abundance and distribution of introduced fish .................. 74 Offshore fish fauna .................................................................................................................... 76 Effects of the fish kill ................................................................................................................. 78 Nearshore fish fauna ............................................................................................................. 78 Offshore fish fauna ................................................................................................................ 80 Black Bream .............................................................................................................................. 81 Spatial distribution of Black Bream ........................................................................................ 81 Temporal changes in the abundance of Black Bream ............................................................. 83 Biological characteristics of Black Bream ............................................................................... 84 Management Recommendations .................................................................................................. 88 General fish fauna ..................................................................................................................... 88 Priority habitats .................................................................................................................... 88 Fish kill monitoring ................................................................................................................ 88 Management of the bar at the mouth of Wonnerup Inlet .......................................................... 89 Population status of Black Bream .............................................................................................. 90 Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... 93 References .................................................................................................................................... 94 Appendices ................................................................................................................................. 102 Executive Summary This project was commissioned to assess the impact of a large fish kill in April 2013 on the fish fauna of the Vasse-Wonnerup. Such an assessment was made possible as regular sampling of the fish in the nearshore waters of the system had been occurring since February 2012. In order to elucidate whether any shift in fish community composition had occurred as a result of the fish kill, ‘natural’ spatial and temporal changes in faunal composition had to be determined. Analysis of the nearshore fish fauna collected every three months over a two year period between February 2012 and November 2013 indicated that the composition of the fish fauna changed markedly both among seasons and regions and that this change was accompanied by large changes in water quality, most notably salinity. Both the number of species and individuals were greatest in the lower reaches of the system, i.e. the Deadwater and Wonnerup Inlet, and declined in an upstream direction through both the lower and upper Vasse and Wonnerup estuaries, before increasing in the Lower Vasse River Wetlands. The diversity in the lower reaches reflects the presence of juveniles of commercially and recreational important fish species, while the high numbers of fish is a reflection of the relatively stable water and salinity levels. These levels changed markedly in the Vasse and Wonnerup estuaries, with the upper estuaries becoming dry and the lower estuaries markedly hypersaline, reaching 132 (around four times full strength seawater) during summer and autumn, before freshwater discharge in winter lowers the salinity considerably (i.e. to < 10). The density of fishes in the Vasse-Wonnerup changed dramatically over the course of a year, with those changes being consistent across the two years. High densities of fish were recorded during November and February, before declining rapidly in May and remaining at those levels in August. This trend is a reflection of i) the breeding cycle of many of the estuarine species, which typically live for one year and spawn over the summer period and ii) the reduction in water levels, increase in salinity and temperature and consequently lower dissolved oxygen concentrations at night. The decline in water levels in 1 the upper estuaries also traps fish in shallow pools making them easy prey for the many birds that inhabit the Vasse-Wonnerup at that time of year. With regard to the nearshore fish community as a
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