Fish biodiversity and inferred abundance in a highly valued coastal temperate environment: the inner Queen Charlotte Sound, New Zealand
Rodelyn Jaksons A B , Peter Bell C , Peter Jaksons A and Denham Cook
C D *
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Sustainable Production Group, The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, Canterbury Agriculture and Science Centre, 74 Gerald Street, Lincoln 7608, New Zealand.
B School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Canterbury, Ilam, Christchurch 8041, New Zealand.
C Seafood Production Group, The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, 293 Akersten Street, Port Nelson 7010, New Zealand.
D University of Waikato Coastal Marine Field Station, 58 Cross Road, Sulphur Point, Tauranga 3114, New Zealand.
Marine and Freshwater Research 73(7) 940-953 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF21247
Submitted: 27 August 2021 Accepted: 21 April 2022 Published: 26 May 2022
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY)
Abstract
Context: The inner Queen Charlotte Sound–Tōtaranui is a focal and emblematic coastal area in New Zealand that is valued by diverse stakeholders. Fish diversity in the region is not well characterised.
Aims: This study sought to provide an inventory of local fish populations, determine the relative abundance of all species observed, and quantify fish biodiversity (including teleost, elasmobranch, syngnathid, chimaera, and cephalopod) in the region.
Methods: Baited remote underwater video, a spatially balanced acceptance sampling design, and Bayesian spatio-temporal analysis approaches using integrated nested Laplace approximation (INLA) were employed.
Key results: In total, 35 species were observed over 3 years. Average site-specific levels of species abundance were low (∼3) with only modest levels of biodiversity (Shannon–Wiener value = 0.65, Simpsons index = 0.51). On the basis of spatial residuals, greater species diversity was identified in western arms of the sound.
Conclusions: These findings provide a useful insight into the biodiversity of fish in the region, and baseline information on the relative abundance of a variety of fish species.
Implications: These findings characterise the contemporary status of fish populations in the inner Queen Charlotte Sound and present a useful framework for ongoing investigations of fish populations in this, and other, inshore marine environments.
Keywords: assemblage, BRUV, INLA, inshore, marine, modelling, spatial, survey.
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