4.4 Article

Restoring depleted coral-reef fish populations through recruitment enhancement: a proof of concept

Journal

JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY
Volume 75, Issue 7, Pages 1857-1867

Publisher

WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2009.02401.x

Keywords

behaviour; enrichment; Pomacentrus amboinensis; recruitment; restorative management; settlement-stage coral-reef fishes

Funding

  1. Australian Institute of Marine Science [G06/15571.1]
  2. James Cook University [A 1253]
  3. Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) [NER/S/A/2006/14128]
  4. Lizard Island Doctoral Fellowship
  5. NERC Postdoctorate Fellowship [NE/B501720/1]
  6. Fisheries Society of the British Isles Research
  7. 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

Primary Rating

4.4
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available