The distribution and significance of stingray feeding pits in Quandamooka (Moreton Bay), Australia

Max L. Giaroli; Ilha Byrne; Ben L. Gilby; Matthew Taylor; Craig A. Chargulaf; Ian R. Tibbetts

doi:10.1071/MF23247

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Previous Next Contents Vol 75(18)

The distribution and significance of stingray feeding pits in Quandamooka (Moreton Bay), Australia

Max L. Giaroli ^A , Ilha Byrne ^A , Ben L. Gilby

^B ^* , Matthew Taylor ^A , Craig A. Chargulaf ^C and Ian R. Tibbetts

^A

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A School of the Environment, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia.

^B School of Science, Technology and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Petrie, Qld 4502, Australia.

^C GHD, 145 Ann Street, Brisbane, Qld 4000, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: bgilby@usc.edu.au

Handling Editor: Colin Simpfendorfer

Marine and Freshwater Research 75, MF23247 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF23247

Submitted: 13 December 2023 Accepted: 12 November 2024 Published: 9 December 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Context

Quandamooka (Moreton Bay) is a large, subtropical, urban, Ramsar-listed marine park in which stingray feeding pits (SRFPs) provide nursery habitat for commercially important nekton.

Aims

Nearmap aerial images were used to assess the distribution and abundance of SRFPs and their relationship to shore characteristics around Quandamooka’s perimeter.

Methods

SRFPs were surveyed using 25-m² quadrats overlain on aerial images at 65 sites on low-energy tidal flats around the perimeter of Quandamooka, and a polygon encompassing the region with the highest SRFP densities was used to make a preliminary assessment of its potential contribution to whiting and prawn fisheries.

Key results

SRFPs were present at 63 of the 65 sites surveyed, with habitat type in the high shore (especially mangroves v. seawalls) being the most important spatial driver of SRFP density.

Conclusions

Eastern Quandamooka sites held more SRFPs and may therefore be an important nursery habitat, holding an estimated 600,000 individuals of postlarval whiting (genus Sillago) and 8 million postlarval penaeid prawns.

Implications

Given the potentially important role of SRFPs for fisheries, especially those adjacent to mangroves, they should be considered a specific habitat type in future marine park zoning plans and managers should ensure the ongoing protection of stingrays.

Keywords: commercial fisheries, marine park, nursery habitat, penaeidae, recreational fisheries, Sillaginidae, Sillago, smelt-whiting.

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