Improving our ability to collect eggs of the threatened Australian grayling, Prototroctes maraena
F. Amtstaetter A B , D. Dawson A and J. O’Connor A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, 123 Brown Street, Heidelberg, Vic. 3084, Australia.
B Corresponding author. Email: frank.amtstaetter@delwp.vic.gov.au
Marine and Freshwater Research 66(12) 1216-1219 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF14277
Submitted: 8 September 2014 Accepted: 31 January 2015 Published: 27 May 2015
Abstract
Successful monitoring of fish eggs or larvae facilitates the assessment of management actions (e.g. environmental flow releases) on spawning success. Paired sets of drift nets (one at the surface and one on the bottom) were used at six sites in the Thomson River to determine whether we can improve our ability to monitor the spawning success of Australian grayling, Prototroctes maraena. Over 900 P. maraena eggs were captured, with 90% being captured in drift nets set on the bottom. All but one of the eggs were captured at two sites, which had faster flow rates and a substrate of small gravel rather than fine sediment. These results indicate that using surface drift net sets for sampling eggs in rivers with low turbulence may be ineffective and that spawning may be more likely in faster-flowing areas with gravel substrates.
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