Replenishment of corals and fish through recruitment KIMBERLEY MARINE RESEARCH PROGRAM WAMSI PROJECT 1.1.2 MARTIAL DEPCZYNSKI - AIMS
Importance of recruitment process - corals Underlies the replenishment of many non-mammalian marine populations Structural reef builders Provide habitat & food for other marine life Brooders & spawners
Importance of recruitment process - fish Underlies the replenishment of many non-mammalian marine populations Maintain important ecosystem processes through food webs, habitat modifications Primary protein source Sexual reproduction through benthic laying, mouth brooding or spawning
Aims of research how, how many, when, where? First investigation into the temporal and spatial patterns of coral & fish recruitment in the inshore Kimberley
Aims of research how many, when, where? First investigation into the temporal and spatial patterns of coral & fish recruitment in the inshore Kimberley
Surveying recruitment
Recruitment - corals
HOW? Surveying recruitment - corals
WHERE? Corals - Spatial variability among taxonomic groups Acropora Isopora Other Pocilloporidae Poritidae Lots of variation among locations Pocilloporidae dominated @ most sites Poritidae and brooding Isopora dominated @ Hal s Pool Spawning Acropora present only in low numbers overall suggesting bleaching had a negative effect on spawners 5km Site-level variation minimal
HOW MANY? Corals - patterns among taxonomic groups Dominated by Pocillopora Unable to tell proportion of brooders versus spawners Likely most of the dominant recruits were brooders
WHEN? 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 Corals - Temporal patterns Coral bleaching commences 0.5 0 Nov-15 Dec-15 Jan-16 Feb-16 Mar-16 Apr-16 May-16 Jun-16 Jul-16 Aug-16 Sep-16 Oct-16 Nov-16 Mean recruits per tile Catamaran Bay Shenton Bluff Jalan Hal's Pool Jorrol Predicted spawning period Predicted spawning period Predicted spawning period
Recruitment - fish
HOW? Surveying recruitment - fish
HOW? Surveying recruitment - fish
HOW? Surveying recruitment - fish
HOW? Surveying recruitment - fish
HOW MANY? Fish abundance & diversity 134spp./22 families - 57 species in juvenile form Mangrove, seagrass, algal habitats (20-23spp.) Coral reefs (39spp); Inter-tidal (15spp) Only 5% of spp. in all five habitat types Video good at capturing local table fishes
WHERE? Fish patterns among habitats All habitats provide a nursery to different assemblage of fishes Mangrove, seagrass quite different to others Inter-tidal, coral reef and algal habitats most similar in composition
WHEN? Fish seasonal patterns Concentrated in wet season - some variation Best recruitment in wet season similar to Ningaloo, Pilbara & GBR but not as clear cut
HOW MANY? WHEN? WHERE? Fish synopsis
Context within broader Kimberley and beyond Corals & fish Evidence that seasonal trend in recruitment strength blurred Inter-blended mosaic habitat types Success of recruitment processes ultimately depends on survivorship conditions Corals Lots of variation among close locations supporting the notion that there are major barriers to larval dispersal among coral populations* One unique feature observed was that reproduction of Porites observed in winter Despite bleaching, our coastal patterns were broadly similar with those found on Kimberley offshore reefs Fish Fish recruitment peaks in Mar/Apr wet season Fish diversity surprisingly low *Berry et al. 2017, WAMSI Report 1.1.3
Implications for management Corals & fish Proven methodology now established for future research Given 2016 water temps, recruitment likely atypical Corals Recurrent sampling to provide some indication of recovery trajectories Indications are presence of a lot of brooding corals recruiting throughout the year Fish Planning, policy and science to recognise all habitats provide unique contribution to the overall pool and diversity of the Kimberley s fish fauna through role as fish nursery grounds Future monitoring to focus on adult fishes of ecological or cultural significance as indicator of fish fauna health - fish recruitment studies are expensive to service and highly variable in space and time
Acknowledgments The State Government of Western Australia and WAMSI partners for funding this research Research Coral recruitment - James Gilmour, Kylie Cook, Camilla Piggott, Daniel Oades, Phillip McCarthy, Azton Howard, Pia Bessell-Browne, Sabrina Arkle, Taryn Foster Fish recruitment - Martial Depczynski, Katherine Cure, Zac Egdar, Kevin George, Tom Holmes, Azton Howard, Phillip McCarthy, Glenn Moore, Daniel Oades, Camilla Piggott, Mike Travers, Shaun Wilson Herbivory - Mat Vanderklift, Richard Pillans, Lisa De Wever, Gary Kendrick, Andrea Zavala-Perez, Adriana Verges, Ruby Garthwin, Grzegorz Skrzypek, Katherine Cure, Camilla Piggott, Daniel Oades, Phillip McCarthy, Kevin George, Trevor Sampi, Dwayne George, Chris Sampi, Zac Edgar, Kevin Dougal, Azton Howard Linked research in and out of node WAMSI 1.1.3 Connectivity, WAMSI XXX Seagrass Camilla Piggott (PhD Candidate) And also a special thanks to the Bardi-Jawi community of Cygnet Bay and the Sunday Island group Kimberley Marine Research Station management, staff & interns