Spawning and nursery habitat partitioning and movement patterns of Pagrus auratus (Sparidae) on the lower west coast of Australia

C.B. Wakefield; D.V. Fairclough; R.C.J. Lenanton; I.C. Potter

doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2011.02.008

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Spawning and nursery habitat partitioning and movement patterns of Pagrus auratus (Sparidae) on the lower west coast of Australia

Journal article

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Peer reviewed

Spawning and nursery habitat partitioning and movement patterns of Pagrus auratus (Sparidae) on the lower west coast of Australia

C.B. Wakefield, D.V. Fairclough, R.C.J. Lenanton and I.C. Potter

Fisheries Research, Vol.109(2-3), pp.243-251

2011

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2011.02.008

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Abstract

The ages and lengths of Pagrus auratus caught by line fishing in three marine embayments (Owen Anchorage, Cockburn Sound and Warnrbo Sound) and inshore (<80. m depth) and offshore waters (>80. m depth) on the lower west coast of Australia (31°45'-32°45' S) were used to infer the movement patterns and habitats occupied by this species at different stages in its life cycle on this coast. These data were supplemented by results obtained by tagging individuals in spawning aggregations in the embayments. 0+ P. auratus <200. mm FL were caught exclusively in the three adjacent embayments. The ages and lengths of immature P. auratus, ranging from 1+ (ca. 200. mm FL) to 5+ years (ca. 400. mm FL), increased progressively with distance from these embayments. During the spawning period (from September to January), the relative abundances of P. auratus with either developing, developed or recently spent gonads were far greater in the three embayments (91%) than in either inshore (12%) or offshore waters (30%). Some tagged P. auratus were recaptured among spawning aggregations in the same embayment during subsequent spawning seasons, while others were recaptured in these embayments outside the spawning period. However, some other tagged individuals were recaptured up to 92. km north, 33. km west and 134. km south outside the spawning period and up to five years after tagging. The results of this study emphasise that the above three adjacent marine embayments constitute important spawning and nursery areas for P. auratus and are thus potentially critical for sustaining the stocks of this recreationally and commercially important species on the lower west coast of Australia.

Details

Title: Spawning and nursery habitat partitioning and movement patterns of Pagrus auratus (Sparidae) on the lower west coast of Australia
Authors/Creators: C.B. Wakefield (Author/Creator) - Murdoch University
D.V. Fairclough (Author/Creator) - Government of Western Australia
R.C.J. Lenanton (Author/Creator) - Government of Western Australia
I.C. Potter (Author/Creator) - Murdoch University
Publication Details: Fisheries Research, Vol.109(2-3), pp.243-251
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Identifiers: 991005540445507891
Copyright: © 2011 Elsevier B.V.
Murdoch Affiliation: Centre for Fish and Fisheries Research; School of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration
Citation topics: 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology; 3.2 Marine Biology; 3.2.92 Fisheries Ecology
Web Of Science research areas: Fisheries
ESI research areas: Plant & Animal Science