Journal article
Temporal patterns in the abundance and habitat associations of juvenile fish in a tropical macrotidal Indigenous Protected Area
Marine Ecology Progress Series, Vol.First online
28/07/2026
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Abstract
Understanding localised patterns in juvenile fish assemblages and the factors that influence them is important for conservation and sustainable fisheries management, especially in regions where communities rely on the sea as a primary source of protein. Most tropical juvenile fish research has taken place in relatively benign environmental conditions, and the influence of extreme tides and high turbidity, as in the western Kimberley region of north-western Australia, remains relatively unexplored. Over a year, we recorded the abundance and species richness of the juvenile fish assemblages in commonly encountered nearshore benthic habitats in the Iwany Island group in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The juvenile fish assemblage was influenced by the presence of coral, macroalgae, mangrove, seagrass and unconsolidated habitats, with the abundance of some species being directly related to percent cover of specific habitat types. The abundance of juvenile fish was low in mangrove habitat and comparatively high in macroalgae and seagrass habitats. We found that some juvenile fish were more abundant during the summer ’wet’ season while the abundance of others was similar year-round. Despite atypical climatic conditions from a strong El Nino Southern Oscillation and a positive Indian Ocean Dipole, these findings were consistent with traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) in the local Indigenous community. The results suggest that post-settlement juvenile fish assemblages in the Kimberley may not follow the same patterns in with low tidal amplitude ecosystems, and that further long-term research is required to understand patterns in recruitment and post-recruitment processes in more extreme macrotidal ecosystems.
Details
- Title
- Temporal patterns in the abundance and habitat associations of juvenile fish in a tropical macrotidal Indigenous Protected Area
- Creators
- Camilla Verity Hoban Piggott - The University of Western AustraliaTim John Langlois - The University of Western AustraliaMonica Gagliano - Southern Cross UniversityShaun K Wilson - The University of Western AustraliaKatherine Cure - Australian Institute of Marine ScienceZac Edgar - Kimberley Land Council (Australia, Broome)Thomas H Holmes - The University of Western AustraliaAzton Howard - Kimberley Land Council (Australia, Broome)Glenn I Moore - The University of Western AustraliaMichael J Travers - Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (Western Australia)Martial Depczynski - The University of Western Australia
- Publication Details
- Marine Ecology Progress Series, Vol.First online
- Publisher
- Inter-Research Science Publisher
- Identifiers
- 991013393751002368
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article