Movement and habitat use of the freshwater catfish (Tandanus tandanus) in a remnant floodplain wetland

Abstract

Knowledge of the movement and habitat use of fishes is important in identifying and understanding the causes of population declines and predicting how populations are likely to respond to management interventions. In this study, radiotelemetry was used to examine the spring and summer movement and habitat use patterns of the freshwater catfish (Tandanus tandanus) in a remnant wetland to inform the development of recovery actions for this threatened species. Twenty-one adult fish were tagged and released within Tahbilk Lagoon, a period which coincides with the spawning period for the species. Eleven of the fish were also tracked every 2 h for 68 consecutive hours in December 2009 to examine diel movements. The study revealed that freshwater catfish make extensive use of cover (e.g. wood and macrophytes) and typically have limited ranges (median total linear range and 90% linear range 599 and 173 m respectively), although they occasionally moved more extensively (up to 1.5 km) between floodplain and riverine habitats. Fish moved over much greater areas at night compared with during the day. There was also evidence of sex-specific variation in movement, with a trend for greater movement of female fish at night compared with males. The results of the study suggest that strategies that protect macrophyte and wood habitats and improve connectivity between riverine and floodplain habitats are likely to be important in maintaining and restoring remnant populations of this species.

Reservoir to river: Quantifying fine‐scale fish movements after translocation

“…The Mehi River receives far less water than the Gwydir River ( Figure 2), and therefore, M. peelii may have a stronger response to discharge in order to explore or relocate to previously inaccessible stretches of the river. As T. tandanus are typically a nonmigratory fish (Koster et al, 2015;Reynolds, 1983), it may be the case that T. tandanus spent more time in the fine-scale array in the Mehi River for the same reason M. peelii spent less time in the array in the same river. As T. tandanus are typically a nonmigratory fish (Koster et al, 2015;Reynolds, 1983), it may be the case that T. tandanus spent more time in the fine-scale array in the Mehi River for the same reason M. peelii spent less time in the array in the same river.…”

“…These two species have undergone dramatic range contractions and declines in abundance due to the introduction of Common carp (Cyprinus carpio), cold water pollution, altered flow regimes and the loss of suitable habitat (Barrett, 2004;Koehn, Lintermans, & Copeland, 2014). Both species show relatively restricted movements over much of their life, occupying well-defined home ranges (Koehn et al, 2009;Koehn & Nicol, 2016;Koster et al, 2015), although both may also undertake occasional long-distance movements during periods of high flow (Koster et al, 2015;Marshall et al, 2016;Reynolds, 1983). Both species show relatively restricted movements over much of their life, occupying well-defined home ranges (Koehn et al, 2009;Koehn & Nicol, 2016;Koster et al, 2015), although both may also undertake occasional long-distance movements during periods of high flow (Koster et al, 2015;Marshall et al, 2016;Reynolds, 1983).…”

“…Both species show relatively restricted movements over much of their life, occupying well-defined home ranges (Koehn et al, 2009;Koehn & Nicol, 2016;Koster et al, 2015), although both may also undertake occasional long-distance movements during periods of high flow (Koster et al, 2015;Marshall et al, 2016;Reynolds, 1983). Tandanus tandanus are thought to make extensive use of macrophytes and wood structures, with a preference for relatively shallow water (1 m; Koster et al, 2015). For both species, little is known of fine-scale movement behaviour.…”

Flow‐mediated movement of freshwater catfish, Tandanus bostocki, in a regulated semi‐urban river, to inform environmental water releases

“…Transmitters (4 g, coil antenna, Advanced Telemetry Systems model F1100) were surgically inserted in the peritoneal cavity, following the methods of Koster et al (2015), of eight female and seven male fish (n = 15) ranging in length from 326-412 mm and weight 333-563 g.…”

Habitat use and preference of adult perch (Perca fluviatilis L.) in a deep reservoir: variations with seasons, water levels and individuals

“…Therefore, Coops et al (2003) and more recently Tao et al (2016) highlighted the urgency of collecting ecological data on fish-habitat relationship. Fish habitat use is a key driver of population dynamics (Hayes et al, 2009) and an essential knowledge for predicting how populations will respond to management interventions (Koster et al, 2015;Cooke et al, 2016). In particular, the identification of crucial habitats is important for efficient aquatic conservation in areas with strong human influence (Halpern et al, 2005;Sale et al, 2005).…”