Sweetwater Fishing Forums

General Category => News Views & Press Releases => Topic started by: Editor on October 21, 2011, 12:50:09 AM

Title: An estuary means multiple habitats for Estuary Perch and Australian Bass
Post by: Editor on October 21, 2011, 12:50:09 AM
An estuary means multiple habitats for Estuary Perch and Australian Bass

Researchers have been looking at how Estuary Perch and Australian Bass use their estuarine habitats.

By monitoring these fish in the Shoalhaven River, NSW, researchers found that significant differences in seasonal and size‐related habitat use.

During the Spring to Autumn months, Estuary Perch lived predominantly in water more than 5m deep in the middle reaches of the estuary.

In winter, they made frequent downstream migrations, often to localised areas, within the lower estuary.

Bass lived in the upper estuary where water was less than 2m deep, as well as in fresh water, throughout the year.

Both species made extensive downstream and upstream migrations, often associated with reproductive needs, water temperature and increased freshwater inflows.

Read more of this research by Walsh and others in Ecology of Freshwater Fish: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0633.2011.00534.x (http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0633.2011.00534.x)


Image: Dylan Van Der Meulen
Source: Newstreams