Journal
JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY
Volume 75, Issue 7, Pages 1857-1867Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2009.02401.x
Keywords
behaviour; enrichment; Pomacentrus amboinensis; recruitment; restorative management; settlement-stage coral-reef fishes
Categories
Funding
- Australian Institute of Marine Science [G06/15571.1]
- James Cook University [A 1253]
- Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) [NER/S/A/2006/14128]
- Lizard Island Doctoral Fellowship
- NERC Postdoctorate Fellowship [NE/B501720/1]
- Fisheries Society of the British Isles Research
- Natural Environment Research Council [NE/B501720/1] Funding Source: researchfish
Ask authors/readers for more resources
To determine whether enhancing the survival of new recruits is a sensible target for the restorative management of depleted coral-reef fish populations, settlement-stage ambon damsel fish Pomacentrus amboinensis were captured, tagged and then either released immediately onto small artificial reefs or held in aquaria for 1 week prior to release. Holding conditions were varied to determine whether they affected survival of fish: half the fish were held in bare tanks (non-enriched) and the other half in tanks containing coral and sand (enriched). Holding fish for this short period had a significantly positive effect on survivorship relative to the settlement-stage treatment group that were released immediately. The enrichment of holding conditions made no appreciable difference on the survival of fish once released onto the reef. It did, however, have a positive effect on the survival of fish while in captivity, thus supporting the case for the provision of simple environmental enrichment in fish husbandry. Collecting and holding settlement-stage fish for at least a week before release appear to increase the short-term survival of released fish; whether it is an effective method for longer-term enhancement of locally depleted coral-reef fish populations will require further study.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available