Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
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 > MF08257
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 60(4)

Radio-tagging and tracking of translocated trout cod (Maccullochella macquariensis: Percichthyidae) in an upland river

B. C. Ebner A B D , L. Johnston A and M. Lintermans A C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Parks, Conservation and Lands, Department of Territory and Municipal Services, ACT Government, GPO Box 158, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.

B Present address: Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, Qld 4111, Australia.

C Present address: Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra, Bruce, ACT 2601, Australia.

D Corresponding author. Email: b.ebner@griffith.edu.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 60(4) 346-355 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF08257
Submitted: 9 September 2008  Accepted: 14 December 2008   Published: 29 April 2009

Abstract

Radio-tracking provides an effective means of studying the spatial ecology of threatened fishes where almost inaccessible habitats and species rarity render conventional mark–recapture methods impractical. Initially, validation of an effective radio-tagging method is required; in the present study, an aquaria trial based on nine hatchery-reared, adult male Maccullochella maquariensis (Percichthyidae) was conducted. Fish resumed feeding within days of being internally implanted with a radio-tag, and tag rejection was not observed (0%, n = 9) based on a 2-month observational period. Following release into an upland stream, individual-specific movements resulted in upstream (n = 1) and downstream (n = 6) dispersal as well as fidelity to the release site (n = 2) at the completion of the study. Individuals established small home-ranges (mean length of river used by an individual per diel period ranged from 47 to 292 m) and were most active in the early morning and evening (n = 6). Complete survivorship of individuals bearing active radio-transmitters (n = 8) was recorded up until 4 months after release. However, an estimated zero or one individual was alive when the last active radio-tag expired 11 months after release (n = 8). The present study highlights the use of radio-tracking in monitoring the dispersal and survivorship of small numbers of hatchery-reared threatened fish released into natural habitats as part of species re-introduction programs.

Additional keywords: captive breeding, dispersal, habitat use, mortality, re-introduction.


Acknowledgements

This research was funded through the Natural Heritage Trust and Environment Act. ACTEW AGL provided the aerial imagery used for spatial mapping of the study area and we are grateful to Stewart Hay for rectifying these images. Will Andrew, Mark Dunford, Mark Jekabsons, Matthew Beitzel, Jason Thiem, Ben Broadhurst and Minal Khan provided assistance to the project. Murray Evans provided statistical advice and the manuscript was improved by comments from Jason Thiem, David Crook, Ben Broadhurst, David Shorthouse, Shaun Meredith and three referees including Simon Nicol and Ivars Reinfelds. The University of Canberra Committee for Ethics in Animal Experimentation approved the project. Research was conducted in Ngunnawal Country.


References

Aarestrup, K. , Jepsen, N. , Koed, A. , and Pedersen, S. (2005). Movement and mortality of stocked brown trout in a stream. Journal of Fish Biology 66, 721–728.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Bennetts R. E., Nichols J. D., Lebreton J., Pradel R., Hines J. E., et al. (2001). Methods for estimating dispersal probabilities and related parameters using marked animals. In ‘Dispersal’. (Eds J. Clobert, E. Dunchin, A. A. Dhondt and J. D. Nichols.) pp. 3–17. (Oxford University Press: New York.)

Bettinger, J. M. , and Bettoli, P. W. (2002). Fate, dispersal and persistence of recently stocked and resident rainbow trout in a Tennessee tailwater. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 22, 425–432.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Butler G. (2001). Age, growth and telemetric tracking of the eastern freshwater cod, Maccullochella ikei (Pisces : Percichthyidae) within the Mann–Nymboida River System, NSW. Honours Thesis, Southern Cross University, Australia.

Cadwallader P. L., and Gooley G. J. (1984). Past and present distributions and translocations of Murray cod Maccullochella peeli and trout cod Maccullochella macquariensis (Pisces : Percichthyidae) in Victoria. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 96, 33–43.

Crowder, D. W. , and Diplas, P. (2000). Using two-dimensional hydrodynamic models at scales of ecological importance. Journal of Hydrology (Amsterdam) 230, 172–191.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Douglas J. W., Gooley G. J., and Ingram B. I. (1994). Trout Cod, Maccullochella macquariensis (Cuvier) (Pisces : Percichthyidae) Resource Handbook and Research and Recovery Plan. (Department of Conservation and Natural Resources: Melbourne.)

Ebner, B. C. , and Thiem, J. D. (2009). Monitoring by telemetry reveals differences in movement and survival following hatchery or wild-rearing of an endangered fish. Marine and Freshwater Research 60, 45–57.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Hooge P. N., and Eichenlaub B. (1997). ‘Animal Movement Extension to Arcview 1.1.’ (US Geological Survey: Anchorage.)

Ingram, B. A. , and Douglas, J. W. (1995). Threatened fishes of the world: Maccullochella maquariensis (Cuvier, 1829) (Pericichthyidae). Environmental Biology of Fishes 43, 38.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Koehn J. (1997). Habitats and movements of freshwater fish in the Murray-Darling Basin. In ‘Proceedings of the 1995 Riverine Environment Research Forum’. (Eds R. J. Banens and R. Lehane.) pp. 27–32. (Murray–Darling Basin Commission: Canberra.)

Koehn J., and Nicol S. (1998). Habitat and movement requirements of fish. In ‘Proceedings of the 1996 Riverine Environment Forum’. (Eds R. J. Banens and R. Lehane.) pp. 1–6. (Murray-Darling Basin Commission: Canberra.)

Koehn, J. D. , Nicol, S. J. , McKenzie, J. A. , Lieschke, J. A. , and Lyon, J. P. , et al. (2008). Spatial ecology of an endangered native Australian Percichthyid fish, the trout cod Maccullochella macquariensis. Endangered Species Research 4, 219–225.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Lintermans M. (1998). The ecology of the two-spined blackfish Gadopsis bispinosus (Pisces : Gadopsidae). M.Sc. Thesis, Australian National University, Canberra.

Lintermans M., Rowland S. J., Koehn J., Butler G., Simpson R., et al. (2005). The status, threats and management of freshwater cod species in Australia. In ‘Management of Murray Cod in the Murray-Darling Basin: Statement, Recommendations and Supporting Papers’. (Eds M. Lintermans and B. Phillips.) pp. 15–29. (Murray-Darling Basin Commission: Canberra.)

Maddock, I. , Thoms, M. , Jonson, K. , Dyer, F. , and Lintermans, M. (2004). Identifying the influence of channel morphology on physical habitat availability for native fish: application to the two-spined blackfish (Gadopsis bispinosus) in the Cotter River, Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research 55, 173–184.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Saddlier S. R., and Harrington D. J. (1997). ‘Population Assessment of Trout Cod and Sympatric Fish Species Within the Closed Section of Seven Creeks during 1997.’ (Marine and Freshwater Resources Institute: Heidelberg.)

Simpson, R. R. , and Mapleston, A. J. (2002). Movements and habitat use by the endangered Australian freshwater Mary River cod, Maccullochella peelii mariensis. Environmental Biology of Fishes 65, 401–410.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Tabachnick B. G., and Fidell L. S. (1989). ‘Using Multivariate Statistics.’ (Harper and Row Publishers: New York.)

Thiem, J. D. , Ebner, B. C. , and Broadhurst, B. T. (2008). Diel activity of the endangered trout cod (Maccullochella macquariensis) in the Murrumbidgee River. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 129, 167–173.


Thorfve, S. (2002). Impacts of in-stream acclimatization in post-stocking behaviour of European grayling in a Swedish stream. Fisheries Management and Ecology 9, 253–260.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Todd, C. R. , Nicol, S. J. , and Koehn, J. D. (2004). Density-dependence uncertainty in population models for the conservation management of trout cod, Maccullochella macquariensis. Ecological Modelling 171, 359–380.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Vilhunen, S. (2006). Repeated antipredator conditioning: a pathway to habituation or to better avoidance? Journal of Fish Biology 68, 25–43.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |