Mangroves as nursery sites: comparisons of the abundance and species composition of fish and crustaceans in mangroves and other nearshore habitats in tropical Australia |
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Authors: | A I Robertson N C Duke |
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Institution: | (1) Australian Institute of Marine Science, P.M.B. No. 3, 4810 Townsville MC, Queensland, Australia |
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Abstract: | Daytime sampling of mangrove and seagrass (Halophila/Halodule community) habitats every 7 wk at Alligator Creek, Queensland, Australia, over a period of 13 mo (February 1985–February
1986) using two types of seine net, revealed distinct mangrove and seagrass fish and crustacean faunas. Total abundance of
fish and relative abundance of small and large fish also varied between habitats and seasonally. Post-larval, juvenile and
small adult fish captured with a small seine-net (3 mm mesh) were significantly more abundant (4 to 10 times) in the mangrove
habitat throughout the 13 mo of sampling. Mangrove fish abundance showed significant seasonality, greatest catches being recorded
in the warm, wet-season months of the year. Relative abundances of larger fish (captured in a seine net with 18 mm mesh) in
the two habitats varied throughout the year, but did not show a seasonal pattern. At the same site, small crustaceans were
significantly more abundant in the mangroves in all but one dryseason sample. Similar comparisons for three riverine sites,
sampled less frequently, in the dry and wet seasons of 1985 and 1986, respectively, showed that in general mangrove habitats
had significantly more fish per sample, although the relative abundance of fish in mangroves and other habitats changed with
season. Crustacean catches showed a similar pattern, except that densities among sites changed with season. Fish and crustacean
abundance in mangroves varied among sites, indicating that estuaries differ in their nursery-ground value. The juveniles of
two commercially important penaeid prawn species (Penaeus merguiensis and Metapenaeus ensis) were amongst the top three species of crustaceans captured in the study, and both were significantly more abundant in the
mangrove habitat. By contrast, mangroves could not be considered an important nursery for juveniles of commercially important
fish species in northern Australia. However, based on comparisons of fish catches in other regions, the results of the present
study indicate the importance of mangroves as nursery sites for commercially exploited fish stocks elsewhere in South-East
Asia.
Contribution No. 378 from the Australian Institute of Marine Science |
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