Journal article

Variation with Depth in Temperate Seagrass-Associated Fish Assemblages in Southern Victoria, Australia

Neil Hutchinson, Gregory P Jenkins, Andrew Brown, Timothy M Smith

ESTUARIES AND COASTS | SPRINGER | Published : 2014

Abstract

Variability in the abundance and distribution of seagrass-associated fish assemblages was examined at different depths in a temperate bay in southern Australia. Depth differences in seagrass-associated fish assemblages are poorly known but this information is critical given that seagrass loss can occur at specific depths depending on the cause. Overall, 69 species of fish from 26 families were recorded, with higher species richness in shallow than deep beds, with 12 species found only in deep beds and 22 species found only in shallow beds. While the total fish abundance (i.e. abundance of all species recorded) varied between years and seasons, and to some extent between sites, it was signifi..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

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Funding Acknowledgements

Financial support for this work was provided by Fisheries Victoria and the Port of Melbourne Corporation. This work would not have been possible without the field assistance of A. Beckhurst, D. Hatton, J. Kemp, J. Kent, M. Koopman, K. Mills, T. Sheehan, B. Womersley, G. Werner and C. White. We are also grateful to D. Bray who assisted with fish species identification. All work was done in accordance with state and national guidelines, with the relevant permits and animal ethics approval. We are grateful to several anonymous referees for their feedback which has greatly improved the paper.