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Fish and decapod crustaceans inhabiting drifting algae in Jervis Bay, New South Wales
Author(s) -
LANGTRY SCOTT K.,
JACOBY CHARLES A.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
australian journal of ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1442-9993
pISSN - 0307-692X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1442-9993.1996.tb00608.x
Subject(s) - biology , bay , fishery , algae , portunidae , biomass (ecology) , ecology , fauna , crustacean , species richness , benthic zone , habitat , oceanography , decapoda , geology
This study documents the fish and decapod crustaceans inhabiting a bed of Gracilaria verrucosa that was drifting on the bottom of a temperate marine embayment in relatively deep water (15‐ 18m) during autumn 1991. Fauna were sampled with diver‐operated enclosure nets. Relatively few species inhabited the algae at this time, and the assemblage was primarily a subset of that in adjacent Posidonia australis beds. Three fish species [ Neoodax balteatus (Odacidae), Cristiceps australis (Clinidae), Siphamia cephalotes (Apogonidae)] and one species of crab [ Nectocarcinus tuberculosus (Portunidae)] dominated the catches numerically. A further 14 fish and decapod species were relatively rare. Neoodax balteatus, C. australis and N. tuberculosus were caught at all life stages and appeared to be permanent residents of the Gracilaria . Few juveniles of other species were captured, which indicates that these algal wracks may not be an important nursery habitat for seasonally resident fish species. Trachurus novaezelandiae and a number of other fish species that associate with a variety of benthic habitats appeared to be transient visitors. The biomass of algae varied significantly within the bed, but algal biomass was not a good indicator of faunal abundances. The low species richness of the fish and decapod crustacean assemblage may be related to both lower recruitment in deeper water and to unfavourable characteristics of the alga.