The Effect of Location, Time, and Environmental Conditions on Fish Use of Southern Temperate Saltmarshes

Abstract

Fish use of saltmarsh varies spatially, temporally, and with environmental conditions. The specific impact of these effects on fish assemblages in southern temperate Tasmania, Australia—the only mangrove-free Australian state—is as yet largely unknown. Seasonal variation in fish abundance, richness, diversity, and size was investigated in succulent saltmarshes in three estuaries (Marion Bay, Barilla Bay, and Ralphs Bay) in south-eastern Tasmania. All parameters varied between sampling locations. Greater numbers of fish were recorded at two sites (Marion Bay, mean density and standard error of 396.9 ± 71.3 individuals per 100 m2; Barilla Bay, mean density and standard error of 94.1 ± 30.1 individuals per 100 m2) than have been previously reported in Australian saltmarshes. Fish abundance was greatest in July–August (mean density and standard error of 200.2 ± 49.7 individuals per 100 m2) reflecting the breeding patterns of the numerically dominant Atherinosoma microstoma. Both abundance and species richness responded positively to water temperature in ordinal logistic regression models, and species richness and diversity increased with water depth in the models. It is likely that the strong differences between sampling locations are partly related to differences in water depth and water temperature between the estuaries. They may be also related to the habitat context of each estuary, especially the presence or absence of seagrass. The greater numbers of fish found in the present study relative to abundances reported in mainland Australia may relate to the absence of mangroves and the consequent differences in seascape habitat context, including greater water depths in marshes. Importantly, these results demonstrate that temperate southern hemisphere saltmarshes are year-round habitat for fish, thus emphasising their importance as a fish habitat.