How individuals respond to environmental change determines the strength and direction of biological processes like recruitment and growth that underpin population productivity. Ascertaining the relative importance of environmental factors can, however, be difficult given the numerous mechanisms through which they affect individuals. This is especially true in dynamic and complex estuarine environments. Here, we develop long-term otolith-based indices of recruitment and growth for estuary perch Percalates colonorum (Bemm River, Australia), to explore the importance of intrinsic (individual, demographic) and extrinsic (hydrologic, climatic, density-dependent) factors in driving estuarine fish productivity. Analyses involved a novel zero-inflated specification of catch curve regression and mixed effects modelling. The 39 years of recruitment and 46 years of growth data, spanning a period of environmental change including severe drought, displayed considerable inter-annual variation. Recruitment success was strongly related to high freshwater inflows during the spawning season, suggesting that these conditions act as spawning cues for adults and potentially provide favourable conditions for larvae. Individuals displayed age-dependent growth, with highest rates observed at younger ages in years characterized by warm temperatures, and to a lesser degree, greater magnitude base inflow conditions. We detected systematic among-year-class growth differences, but these were not attributable to year class strength, suggesting that environmental conditions experienced by individuals as juveniles can have long-lasting effects of greater importance to population productivity than density-dependent growth responses. The primacy of temperature in driving growth variation highlights that under-appreciated climatic variation can affect estuarine fish productivity through direct physiological and indirect food web mechanisms. We predict that climatic warming will promote individual growth in southerly populations of P. colonorum but concurrently limit recruitment due to forecast reductions in spawning season river discharge. Disparate trait responses are likely in other fishes as they respond to multiple and changing environmental drivers, making predictions of future population productivity challenging.

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To handle large river eels during procedures such as measuring and tagging for field and aquaculture studies, they must be anaesthetized. During our initial biological studies of Anguilla reinhardtii (Steindachner) it was found that the anaesthetic benzocaine was relatively expensive and elicited a variable response, even when used at relatively high concentrations. Human health risks are also a concern when using benzocaine, as some of the eels may later be sold for human consumption. Therefore, experiments were done to evaluate the use of clove oil (a safe, naturally occurring product) for anaesthesia of this species at a range of temperatures (17 and 25 °C) and salinities (0–32 g L−1). It was found that clove oil provided a suitable anaesthetic response through this wide range of temperatures and salinities. Response times were found to be relatively variable for both benzocaine and clove oil. This variability may be related to stress, environmental factors, or the condition of the fish. Clove oil is recommended for anaesthesia of anguillid eels because it is effective, relatively inexpensive, and poses little risk to human health.

Understanding movement patterns and habitat utilisation is critical for the management of diadromous fishes. An acoustic telemetry array was used to monitor 33 estuary perch, Macquaria colonorum and 39 Australian bass, Macquaria novemaculeata in the freshwater and estuarine reaches on the Shoalhaven River, south-east Australia. On average, tagged M. novemaculeata were detected for a considerably shorter period than M. colonorum, and evidence suggested that fishing pressure may have impacted on their survival. Macquaria colonorum displayed significant shifts in seasonal and size-related habitat use, with fish predominantly residing in deep (>5 m) areas within the middle (mesohaline) reaches of the estuary during the austral spring to autumn months. In winter, M. colonorum individuals made frequent downstream migrations, often to localised areas, within the lower estuary (LE). In contrast, M. novemaculeata were distributed in shallow (<2 m) habitats throughout the year, within the upper (oligohaline) estuarine reaches of the river, as well as in fresh water. Like M. colonorum, M. novemaculeata made extensive downstream and upstream movements, often coincident with reproductive behaviour, water temperature and increased freshwater inflows. It is postulated that the high site fidelity and repetitive homing displayed by both species is influenced by ontogenetic behaviour and prey availability. Furthermore, the extent of instream distribution by both species, and the lack of observed annual spawning migrations by some M. novemaculeata individuals, indicates the once considered 'catadromous' life cycle of these fishes may not be obligatory. A management approach is recommended to ensure that both these species are not over-exploited within a portion of their instream range, thus maintaining their full reproductive potential.

This paper presents a novel approach for fitting length data to the Schnute growth model. Cohorts were fitted manually to a time series of length distributions from two stocks (Clarence and Hunter Rivers) of Metapenaeus macleayi and considered analogous to individuals from tag–recapture data, in order to estimate growth parameters. Data for Clarence males best fitted the three-parameter Schnute Model (L∞ = 21.3 mm CL, κ = 0.025 day–1 and γ = –1.35), whereas those for Hunter males were best fitted to a two-parameter version of the model (L∞ = 33.5 mm CL, κ = 0.009 day–1 and γ = 0 fixed). The equivalent to the von Bertalanffy growth function was the best fit to female data from both stocks (L∞ = 36.6 and 40.2 mm CL, κ = 0.004 and 0.005 day–1 and γ = 1 fixed for Clarence and Hunter respectively). Females grew larger than males and took longer to achieve their maximum size. No significant differences in female growth were found between stocks; however, males from the Hunter grew to a longer mean maximum length but at a slower rate than those from the Clarence. This study shows how the Schnute Model can be fitted to length based data and thus include the flexibility of comparing fits between asymptotic and non-asymptotic growth functions.

Temperate basses and perches (family Percichthyidae) worldwide have declined in distribution and abundance during the past few decades due to anthropogenic impacts such as fishing, habitat degradation and alteration to river flows. This study examined differences in the age, growth and longevity of Macquaria colonorum among three south-eastern Australian coastal rivers. Estimates of ages were made by counting opaque zones in sectioned otoliths. Ages were validated by using marginal increment analysis, staining fish otoliths with oxytetracycline and sampling young-of-the-year fish. Length-at-age data from 1644 fish indicated that growth of M. colonorum is rapid in the first 3 to 4 years, after which it slows considerably. Females grew faster and reached larger asymptotic lengths than males. The species was found to be long lived, with the oldest fish estimated at 41 years. Population age structures indicated variable year-class strengths in all three rivers and there was an absence of larger, older (>10 years) individuals in the populations from the two rivers with a history of commercial fishing. These results indicate that M. colonorum populations, similar to other global percichthyid and estuarine-dependent fishes, have been subjected to episodic recruitment and age truncation and that these are likely influenced by environmental flows and fishing pressure.

The selection properties of three experimental mesh sizes were examined in the lampara net fishery for eastern sea garfish, Hyporhamphus australis (Steindachner), in New South Wales, Australia. The sizes of fish retained in 25-, 28-and 32-mm mesh nets were compared with those retained in a control 12-mm mesh net. The 25-mm mesh net retained significant numbers of immature H. australis, the 28-mm mesh net retained predominantly only mature fish and the 32-mm mesh had very low catch rates. Catch rates decreased linearly with increasing mesh size and there was a significant linear relationship between mesh size and the 50% selection size (L 50 ). Given this species is being overfished, the 28-mm mesh size is recommended as the most appropriate for use in the fishery.garfish, halfbeaks, Hyporhamphus, lampara net, mesh size, selectivity.

Physicochemical variability in estuarine systems plays an important role in estuarine processes and in the lifecycles of estuarine organisms. In particular, seasonality of freshwater inflow to estuaries may be important in various aspects of fish lifecycles. This study aimed to further understand these relationships by studying the movements of a top-level estuarine predator in response to physicochemical variability in a large, temperate south-east Australian estuary (Shoalhaven River). Mulloway (Argyrosomus japonicus, 47–89 cm total length) were surgically implanted with acoustic transmitters, and their movements and migrations monitored over two years via fixed-position VR2W acoustic receivers configured in a linear array along the length of the estuary. The study period included a high degree of abiotic variability, with multiple pulses (exponentially high flows over a short period of time) in fresh water to the estuary, as well as broader seasonal variation in flow, temperature and conductivity. The relative deviation of fish from their modal location in the estuary was affected primarily by changes in conductivity, and smaller fish (n = 4) tended to deviate much further downstream from their modal position in the estuary than larger fish (n = 8). High-flow events which coincided with warmer temperatures tended to drive mature fish down the estuary and potentially provided a spawning signal to stimulate aggregation of adults near the estuary mouth; however, this relationship requires further investigation. These findings indicate that pulse and press effects of freshwater inflow and associated physicochemical variability play a role in the movements of mulloway, and that seasonality of large freshwater flows may be important in spawning. The possible implications of river regulation and the extraction of freshwater for consumptive uses on estuarine fishes are discussed.