ORCID Profile
0000-0003-0009-568X
Current Organisation
University of Tasmania
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Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-04-2023
DOI: 10.1002/AQC.3944
Abstract: Quantification of species’ spatial distributions and population trends is crucial for successful conservation efforts. Obtaining sufficient population data, however, is often difficult in the marine environment, especially for rare fish and invertebrate species that are small, cryptic and very difficult to detect. This study sought to understand the effort required to search for undiscovered populations of small, cryptic, marine species in shallow vegetated coastal habitats and track population numbers, using the Critically Endangered red handfish ( Thymichthys politus ) as a representative species. A s ling strategy was designed using a combination of environmental DNA (eDNA) and structured underwater scuba surveys of life‐like 3D‐printed ‘handfish replicas’ to estimate detectability and ultimately determine whether current population monitoring is adequately covering the remaining habitat occupied by the species. Tested over scales of hundreds of metres to kilometres, the eDNA assays performed relatively poorly in situ , detecting red handfish presence in only ~13% of s les collected from the centre of a known, yet low‐density, red handfish site. In contrast, underwater searches for independently placed handfish replicas by scuba ers indicated that mean detection probabilities at finer scales (~100 m) ranged from 57 to 97%. Near certain (95% probability) detection of an adult handfish was achievable with only one to three surveys (300 m 2 belt transects), depending on the habitat complexity. While other species will vary in detectability using eDNA and underwater searches, these findings give insight into the general effort required for the detection of small, rare species inhabiting vegetated coastal environments. Such knowledge not only helps to refine monitoring and conservation efforts for known threatened species, but may also assist in identifying other inconspicuous species whose population declines may otherwise go unnoticed.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.MARPOLBUL.2022.114239
Abstract: Fishes represent an important natural resource and yet their ersity and function in dynamic estuaries with relatively high levels of human pressure such as Sydney Harbour have rarely been quantified. Further, Eastern Australia supports the survival and persistence of an increasing number of tropical species found within temperate estuaries owing to increasing average ocean temperatures. A re-valuation of the number of fish species known from Sydney Harbour is therefore needed. In this study, we generated an up-to-date and annotated checklist of fishes recorded from Sydney Harbour based on verified natural history records as well as newly available citizen science records based on opportunistic observations and structured surveys. We explored the spatial and temporal distribution of these records. In addition, we quantified the function, conservation status, and commercial importance of the identified fishes. The number of fish species recorded from Sydney Harbour now stands at 675, an increase of 89 species (15 %) when compared to the most recent evaluation in 2013. We attribute this increase in fish ersity over a relatively short time to the contribution of newer citizen science programs as well as the influx and survival of fishes in the Harbour with preferences for warmer waters. Some fish families were also overrepresented in the more urbanized and polluted sections of the Harbour. In forecasting further environmental impacts on the fishes of Sydney Harbour, we recommend increased integration of collaborative citizen science programs and natural history collections as a means to track these changes.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2020
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 10-2016
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-03-2023
No related grants have been discovered for Jemina Stuart-Smith.