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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 59(8)

Vertical migration of postlarval penaeid prawns in two Australian estuaries: the effect of tide and day/night

D. J. Vance A B and R. C. Pendrey A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A CSIRO Marine Research, Cleveland Marine Laboratories, PO Box 120, Cleveland, Qld 4163, Australia.

B Corresponding author. Email: david.vance@csiro.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 59(8) 671-683 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF07234
Submitted: 3 December 2007  Accepted: 13 May 2008   Published: 22 August 2008

Abstract

Knowledge of the vertical migration behaviour of postlarval penaeid prawns is important in understanding postlarval migration from offshore spawning grounds to estuarine nursery areas. We sampled throughout several 24-h periods in two estuaries in Australia to assess the distribution of postlarvae in the water column. We used four trawl nets: one net in the top 0.5 m of the water column and three nets one above the other, from the seabed to 0.72 m above the seabed. Penaeus plebejus was abundant in catches in the Nerang River, southern Queensland, while Penaeus semisulcatus, Penaeus esculentus and Penaeus merguiensis were caught in the Embley River, northern Queensland. For all species, the highest catches at the surface were on night flood tides. Many postlarvae in the Embley River were caught in nets above the seabed on ebb tides, suggesting that net migration patterns cannot be determined simply by sampling surface waters. The vertical distribution of penaeid postlarvae is determined primarily by tide and day/night; however, water turbidity and cloud cover, factors that reduce light at the seabed, are also likely to be important. All these aspects of postlarval behaviour should be included in hydrodynamic models of larval advection from spawning grounds to inshore nursery areas.


Acknowledgements

We thank Brenda Healy, Myra Beamish, Sue Cheers, Quinton Dell and Clinton Muller for helping to sort the samples. Dr Neil Loneragan, Dr Roland Pitcher and Mr Don Heales of CSIRO Marine Research kindly provided helpful comments on drafts of the manuscript. We thank the editors and several anonymous referees for thoughtful suggestions that improved the clarity of the paper. This research was funded by CSIRO Marine Research and the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation of Australia (FRDC 97/108). We are grateful to the Queensland Department of Primary Industries for issuing permits allowing us to sample in closed estuarine waters.


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