Register      Login
Marine and Freshwater Research Marine and Freshwater Research Society
Advances in the aquatic sciences
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > MF > MF07093
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 59(2)

Density and size of reef fishes in and around a temperate marine reserve

Matt Kleczkowski A B , Russ C. Babcock A and Geordie Clapin A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A CSIRO Marine Research, Private Bag No. 5, Wembley 6913 WA, Australia.

B Corresponding author. Email: matt.kleczkowski@csiro.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 59(2) 165-176 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF07093
Submitted: 9 May 2007  Accepted: 11 January 2008   Published: 27 February 2008

Abstract

The effects of marine reserve protection on the density, size, biomass, sex-ratio and overall assemblage structure of reef fishes were investigated at Kingston Reef Sanctuary, Rottnest Island, Western Australia. Significant trends in response to reserve protection were found for two species of top predators and several serially protogynous labrid species. The relative density and biomass of the heavily targeted Glaucosoma hebraicum was 10 and five times greater within the sanctuary respectively. Similarly, the biomass of the serranid, Epinephelides armatus, was 3.2 times greater in the sanctuary, although this difference was owing to a greater mean length not relative density. The male : female sex ratio for the labrid, Ophthalmolepis lineolatus, was significantly different between sanctuary and non-sanctuary sites, with the density of male O. lineolatus significantly greater within the sanctuary. Rottnest Island waters are largely restricted to recreational fishing, therefore these results suggest that a range of fish species around Rottnest Island are affected by recreational fishing, and that these effects are found in taxa beyond the primary target species. The patterns in the effects on bycatch species suggest that fishing-related mortality may be exerting a greater control on these populations than that exerted by natural predation.

Additional keywords: effects of fishing, population structure, recreational fishing, Western Australia.


Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Matt Sherlock and Peter Dunn of CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research for their work on the video LANC controllers and other aspects of camera operation. We are indebted to Elaine Lek and Steve Moore for sharing their data on fish length–biomass relationships. Thanks also to the Rottnest Island Authority and particularly Harriet Davie, Claire Wright and Keith Shadbolt for their assistance with logistics, accommodation, travel and for permission to conduct our non-destructive research in the reserve. Although not directly applicable in the present study, we were also granted exemption from the Fish Resources Act 1994 by the Fisheries Department of Western Australia.


Finally, we would like to thank the anonymous reviewers that took the time to critique this paper.


References

Allison, G. W. , Lubchenco, J. , and Carr, M. H. (1998). Marine reserves are necessary but not sufficient for marine conservation. Ecological Applications 8, S79–S92.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Babcock R. C. (2003) The New Zealand marine reserve experience: the science behind the politics. In ‘Conserving marine environments. Out of sight out of mind?’ (Eds P. Hutchings and D. Lunney.) pp. 108–119. (Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales: Mosman, NSW.)

Babcock, R. C. , Kelly, S. , Shears, N. T. , Walker, J. W. , and Willis, T. J. (1999). Large-scale habitat change in temperate marine reserves. Marine Ecology Progress Series 189, 125–134.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Bohnsack J. A. (1990). The potential of marine fishery reserves for reef fish management in the US Southern Atlantic. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SEFC-261, Miami.

Buxton, C. D. (1993). Life-history changes in exploited reef fishes on the east coast of South Africa. Environmental Biology of Fishes 36, 47–63.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Denny C. M., Wills T. J., and Babcock R. C. (2003). Effects of Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve on demersal fish populations. DOC Science Internal Series no. 142. pp. 34. Science & Technical Publishing, New Zealand Department of Conservation.

Edgar, G. J. , and Barret, N. S. (1999). Effects of the declaration of marine reserves on Tasmanian reef fishes, invertebrates and plants. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 242, 107–144.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Edgar G. J., Russ G. R., and Babcock R. C. (2007) Marine protected areas. In ‘Marine Ecology’. (Eds S. D. Connell and B. M. Gillanders.) pp. 534–565. (Oxford University Press: Melbourne.)

Ellis, D. M. , and DeMartini, E. E. (1995). Evaluation of a video camera technique for indexing abundances of juvenile pink snapper, Pristipomoides filamentosus, and other Hawaiian insular shelf fishes. Fishery Bulletin 93, 67–77.
Froese R., and Pauly D. (Eds) (2005). FishBase Version 11/2005, www.fishbase.org.

Graham, N. A. , Evans, R. D. , and Russ, G. R. (2003). The effects of marine reserve protection on the trophic relationships of reef fishes on the Great Barrier Reef. Environmental Conservation 30, 200–208.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Keesing J., and Heine J. (2005) Strategic Research Fund for the Marine Environment: Interim Final Report. CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, Perth.

Langlois, T. J. , and Ballantine, W. J. (2005). Marine ecological research in New Zealand: Developing predictive models through the study of no-take marine reserves. Conservation Biology 19, 1763–1770.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PRIMER-E (2002). Plymouth routines in multivariate ecological research. PRIMER 5 for Windows Version 5.1.1, Plymouth, UK.

Roberts, C. M. , Hawkins, J. P. , and Gell, F. R. (2005). The role of marine reserves in achieving sustainable fisheries. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences 360, 123–132.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |

Russ, G. R. , and Alcala, A. C. (1996). Do marine reserves export adult fish biomass? Marine Ecology Progress Series 132, 1–9.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Russ, G. R. , and Alcala, A. C. (1998). Natural fishing experiments in marine reserves 1983–1993: community and trophic responses. Coral Reefs 17, 383–397.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Smallwood, C. B. , Beckley, L. E. , and Sumner, N. R. (2006). Shore-based recreational angling in the Rottnest Island Reserve, Western Australia: Spatial and temporal distribution of catch and fishing effort. Pacific Conservation Biology 12, 238–251.


Watson, D. L. , Harvey, E. S. , Kendrick, G. A. , Nardi, K. , and Anderson, M. J. (2007). Protection from fishing alters the species composition of fish assemblages in a temperate-tropical transition zone. Marine Biology 152, 1197–1206.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Wetherbee, B. M. , Holland, K. N. , Meyer, C. G. , and Lowe, C. G. (2004). Use of a marine reserve in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii by the giant trevally, Caranx ignobilis. Fisheries Research 67, 253–263.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Williamson, D. H. , Russ, G. R. , and Ayling, A. M. (2004). The effectiveness of marine reserves in protecting fish stocks on fringing reefs of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Environmental Conservation 31, 149–159.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Willis, T. J. , Millar, R. B. , and Babcock, R. C. (2000). Detection of spatial variability in relative density of fishes: Comparison of visual census, angling, and baited underwater video. Marine Ecology Progress Series 198, 249–260.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Willis, T. J. , Millar, R. B. , and Babcock, R. C. (2003). Protection of exploited fish in temperate regions: high density and biomass of snapper Pagrus auratus (Sparidae) in northern New Zealand marine reserves. Journal of Applied Ecology 40, 214–227.