Temporal change in fish assemblages in the lower Goulburn River, south-eastern Australia: comment on Pollino et al. (2004)

2006 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 303 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Crook ◽  
Wayne M. Koster
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
Fish Assemblage ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Fish Fauna ◽  
Recent Analysis ◽  
Stressed Condition ◽  
Fish Assemblage Structure ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
South Eastern Australia

A recent analysis of fish assemblages in the Goulburn River, south-eastern Australia, used fish survey data collected between 1970 and 2002 to examine spatial patterns in the compositions and relative abundances of fish assemblages in the catchment. Based on this analysis, it was concluded that the native fish fauna of the Goulburn River is in a stressed condition and that introduced species dominate the fish assemblages. Fish survey data collected in 1982–1983 are compared with data collected in 2003–2004 to examine whether fish assemblages in the lower Goulburn River were stable at the temporal scale at which the data were aggregated in the previous analysis. The results show significant differences in fish assemblage composition between the two surveys, suggesting that fish assemblage structure in the lower Goulburn River did not remain stable between 1982–1983 and 2003–2004. The aggregation of data collected over several decades has the potential to confound analysis of spatial variations in fish assemblages and is unlikely to provide a reliable means of assessing their current condition.

scholarly journals Fish assemblages in a coastal bay adjacent to a network of marine protected areas in southern Brazil

2016 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
André Pereira Cattani ◽  
Fábio Gonçalves Daura Jorge ◽  
Gisela Costa Ribeiro ◽  
Leonardo Liberali Wedekin ◽  
Paulo César de Azevedo Simões Lopes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Marine Protected Areas ◽  
Fish Assemblage ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Fish Fauna ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Fish Assemblage Structure ◽  
Principal Coordinates ◽  
Coastal Bay

Abstract Baía Norte (North Bay) in Santa Catarina State is considered a typical coastal bay and is surrounded by a network of Marine Protected Areas. The objectives of this study were to describe the composition of the demersal fish assemblage, identify seasonal and spatial structures on a fine scale and evaluate the role of habitat descriptors and abiotic variables affecting the fish assemblage structure. Seasonal samplings were conducted in 2005, using bottom trawls in six pre-established areas in Baía Norte in summer, fall, winter and spring. Simultaneously with each trawl, environmental data were collected with a multiparameter probe. Temporal and spatial differences in fish abundance were tested by a PERMANOVA. To illustratethe differences detected graphically we ran a canonical analysis of principal coordinates (CAP). The influence of environmental variables on the fish fauna was evaluated using a Distant Based Linear Model (DistLM) with Akaike's information criterion (AIC). A total of 9,888 specimens, distributed in 27 families and 62 species, were collected. Citharichthys spilopterus was the most abundant species. PERMANOVA detected differences for abundance between seasons, areas and interaction among all the factors. The DISTLM selected temperature and pH. The results highlight seasonality as an important factor in the structuring of fish fauna of the study place.

Temporal variability in fish assemblage structure and recruitment in a freshwater-deprived estuary: The Coorong, Australia

2010 ◽  
Vol 61 (11) ◽  
pp. 1298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenton P. Zampatti ◽  
Christopher M. Bice ◽  
Paul R. Jennings
Keyword(s):  
Fish Assemblage ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
River Regulation ◽  
Assemblage Structure ◽  
Estuarine Fish ◽  
Fish Assemblage Structure ◽  
Murray River ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Freshwater Inflows

River regulation can diminish freshwater flows to estuaries and compromise estuarine functionality. Understanding biotic responses to altered flow regimes is imperative to effectively manage aquatic ecosystems. The present study investigated temporal variation in fish assemblage structure and the recruitment of catadromous fish in the Coorong estuary at the terminus of the Murray River, in south-eastern Australia. Over the three-year study period, freshwater inflows to the estuary diminished and ultimately ceased, disconnecting freshwater and estuarine environments. It was hypothesised that these conditions would lead to (1) increases in estuarine salinities and concomitant changes in fish assemblage structure and abundance, and (2) decreased recruitment of catadromous fish. As freshwater inflow decreased, salinities immediately downstream of a series of tidal barrages increased from brackish to marine–hypersaline, species richness and diversity decreased, freshwater and diadromous species became less abundant and assemblages were increasingly characterised by marine species. Furthermore, the abundance of young-of-year catadromous fish decreased dramatically. Excessive regulation of freshwater inflows is resulting in the Coorong estuary resembling a marine embayment, leading to a loss in species diversity. We suggest, however, that even small volumes of freshwater may promote diversity in estuarine fish assemblages and some recruitment of catadromous species.

The cumulative effect of trawl fishing on a multispecies fish assemblage in south-eastern Australia

2014 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott D. Foster ◽  
Piers K. Dunstan ◽  
Franziska Althaus ◽  
Alan Williams
Keyword(s):  
Fish Assemblage ◽  
Cumulative Effect ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Trawl Fishing ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
South Eastern Australia

scholarly journals Assemblage structure and spatial diversity patterns of kelp forest-associated fishes in Southern Patagonia

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. e0257662
Author(s):  
Mathias Hüne ◽  
Alan M. Friedlander ◽  
Enric Ballesteros ◽  
Jennifer E. Caselle ◽  
Enric Sala
Keyword(s):  
Fish Assemblage ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Fish Fauna ◽  
Spatial Diversity ◽  
Assemblage Structure ◽  
Kelp Forests ◽  
Fish Assemblage Structure ◽  
Important Species ◽  
Southern Patagonia

Knowledge of the ecology of the fish fauna associated with kelp (primarily Macrocystis pyrifera) forests in Southern Patagonia is scarce, especially in how abiotic and biotic variables influence their structure, diversity, and distribution. This information is important for the management and conservation of this unique ecosystem, which has minimal anthropogenic impacts at present. We analyzed data from 122 quantitative underwater transects conducted within kelp forests at 61 stations from Chile’s southern Patagonian fjords to the Cape Horn and Diego Ramirez archipelagos and the southern tip of Argentina, including the Mitre Peninsula and Isla de los Estados. In total, 25 fish species belonging to 13 families were observed. Multivariate analysis indicated that there are significant differences in fish assemblage structure among locations and wave exposures, which was driven primarily by Patagonotothen sima and Paranotothenia magellanica, which occurred on exposed and semi-exposed stations. P. cornucola was mainly distributed across sheltered stations of the Kawésqar National Park. Temperature, salinity, depth, and kelp density influenced fish assemblage structure, with the highest diversity in areas with the lowest temperature and greater depth at Isla de los Estados. In contrast, species richness, diversity, abundance, and biomass were all lower in areas with high density of the understory kelp Lessonia spp., which might be driven by the absence of P. tessellata, P. squamiceps and P. cornucola, the most important species in terms of occurrence, abundance, and biomass. Our study provides the first broad-scale description of the fish assemblages associated with kelp forests along the southern cone of South America based on non-invasive visual transects, improving our knowledge of the distribution of fish assemblages across several environmental conditions in this vast and little-studied area.

Do invasive eastern gambusia (Gambusia holbrooki) shape wetland fish assemblage structure in south-eastern Australia?

2012 ◽  
Vol 63 (8) ◽  
pp. 659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jed I. Macdonald ◽  
Zeb D. Tonkin ◽  
David S. L. Ramsey ◽  
Andrew K. Kaus ◽  
Alison K. King ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Life History Strategies ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Gambusia Holbrooki ◽  
Fish Assemblage Structure ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Specialist Species ◽  
South Eastern Australia

Defining the ecological impacts conferred by invasive fishes provides a framework for evaluating the feasibility of control efforts in invaded waterways, and for predicting the consequences of future incursions. Eastern gambusia (Gambusia holbrooki) is a remarkably successful invader of freshwater systems worldwide, with the capacity to detrimentally impact native fishes both directly (e.g. competition, predation, agonistic interactions) and indirectly (e.g. triggering trophic cascades). Here, we modelled the influence of eastern gambusia and several environmental covariates on fish species diversity, abundance and condition based on quantitative survey data collected from 93 wetlands in south-eastern Australia. We predicted that small-bodied, wetland specialist species sharing dietary- and habitat-niches with eastern gambusia would be most severely impacted, and that environmental stressors associated with wetland drying during late summer would magnify these impacts. Eastern gambusia influenced the occurrence, abundance and/or body condition of most common wetland species; however, the direction and level of impact appeared dependent on both biotic and environmental forces. From these results, we postulate that generalist life-history strategies that permit niche-segregation may release some native species from competitive/predatory pressures, allowing coexistence with eastern gambusia in resource-limited, environmentally harsh habitats, whilst specialist species that occupy narrower ecological niches may be less resistant.

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