The effects of salinity, turbidity and flow on fish biomass estimated acoustically in two tidal rivers
V. F. Matveev A B and A. D. L. Steven A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A CSIRO Land and Water, Ecosciences Precinct, PO Box 2583 Brisbane, Qld 4001, Australia.
B Corresponding author. Email: vlad.matveev@csiro.au
Marine and Freshwater Research 65(3) 267-274 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF12266
Submitted: 21 September 2012 Accepted: 24 July 2013 Published: 18 October 2013
Abstract
Establishing drivers of fish abundance in estuaries is an important task of both theoretical and practical significance. Commercial catch data help explain large-scale variation in fish productivity; however, there is insufficient understanding of small-scale changes. We analysed correlations between acoustically estimated fish biomass (FB) and environmental variables, which included indices of primary productivity and physio-chemistry in a coastal river system during four seasons. Spatial series of FB were obtained for the Logan River (main estuary) and the Albert River (tributary) located in South East Queensland, Australia. Most of the year, FB was significantly higher in the Albert River. Annual means for discharge, salinity and pH were significantly lower, whereas phosphorus concentrations were higher in the Albert River. Out of 15 hydrological variables tested, FB was strongly correlated only with salinity, conductivity and turbidity. In the Albert River, where fish were larger, as indicated by greater target strengths, FB was positively correlated with river discharge. Our results suggest that salinity and turbidity can be important seasonal drivers of fish abundance in communities dominated by Mugil spp. and Nematalosa erebi and that the flow-biomass relationship may appear independent of the effects of primary production.
Additional keywords: environmental drivers, hydroacoustics, turbidity.
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