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Assessing the use of saltmarsh flats by fish in a temperate Australian embayment

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Abstract

Little is known about the importance of salmarshes to juvenile and adult fishes in temperate Australia. We assessed diel and feeding patterns of fish inhabiting saltmarsh in a sheltered embayment along the coast of Victoria, Australia, between October 2002 and May 2003. The saltmarsh flat was generally only inundated during low-pressure weather systems (barometric pressure <1,013 hP). Fish were sampled over the saltmarsh flats using fyke and seine nets. A total of 2,047 individuals (10 species, including juveniles and adults) were caught.Atherinasoma microstoma was most abundant (fyke [F], μ=1.6 fish h−1; seine [S], μ=28.2 fish shot−1), followed byFavonigobius, lateralis (F: 0.5; S: 0.6),Galaxias maculatus (F: 0.1),Heteroclinus adelaide (F:<0.1),Kestratherina esox (F: <0.1; S: 1.6),Leptatherina presbyteroides (F: <0.1; S: 7.1) andTetractenos glaber (F: 1). Commercial species, includingAldrichetta forsteri (F: <0.1; S: 3.2),Sillaginodes punctata (F: <0.1; S: 0.9), andRhombosolea tapirina (F: 0.4), were commonly sampled. Variability in species richness or fish abundance was not explained by water temperature, salinity, depth, or barometric pressure. Significantly more species were sampled with the seine during nocturnal periods (p=0.002); fish abundance did not vary between diel periods, nor did fish abundance and species richness in fyke net samples. Diets of the most abundant species (A. microstoma, A. forsteri, andF. lateralis) were primarily composed of gammaridean amphipods and hemipteran insects. There was no correlation between fish diets and the composition of benthic invertebrates as sampled at 3 different regions of the saltmarsh flat. The saltmarsh flats in our study region are inhabited by several species normally associated with alternative habitat types such as seagrass, and the patterns of habitat use observed appear to be partially attributed to foraging behavior.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of Melbourne, 3010, Parkville, Australia

    S. M. Crinall & J. S. Hindell

  2. Department of Primary Industries, Office Box 114, 3225, Queenscliff, Australia

    J. S. Hindell

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  1. S. M. Crinall
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  2. J. S. Hindell
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Correspondence to J. S. Hindell.

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Crinall, S.M., Hindell, J.S. Assessing the use of saltmarsh flats by fish in a temperate Australian embayment. Estuaries 27, 728–739 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02907656

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