Evaluating local population dynamics of the American lobster,Homarus americanus,with trap‐based mark‐recapture methods and seabed mapping

Seabed mapping, spatially referenced trapping, and mark‐recapture methods have all been useful tools in ecological studies of lobsters and other benthic animals. Here we integrate the three methods to evaluate local population dynamics and movements of American lobsters, Homarus americanus, in coastal fishing grounds in Maine, United States. The study was conducted on five study areas of different size, and used two different sampling protocols. At one site (1 km² in area) we used a monthly mark‐recapture sampling interval over a 6‐month period, only tagging a subsample of the catch. At four smaller sites (0.3 km²) we used a shorter‐term approach, sampling at 3–4‐day intervals for a 2‐week duration, tagging the entire catch. Tagging data were analysed with a modified Jolly‐Seber model adapted for continuous sampling to estimate population abundance, gains (immigration), and losses (emigration and mortality). Side‐scan sonar surveys of the seabed combined with diver‐based population surveys, stratified by substrate type, provided an independent comparison to mark‐recapture‐based estimates of abundance over the same areas. Spatial referencing of trap catch also allowed us to relate catch rates and lobster movements directly to seabed features. The longer‐term tagging data on the larger study area provided abundance estimates that were more consistent with the diver observations, and estimates of gains and losses statistically more robust, than those derived from the shorter‐term effort on the smaller sites. The flux of lobsters followed the well known seasonal movements on these fishing grounds, with gains and losses from the larger study area ranging over 1000 individuals per day, and an estimated mid‐summer peak density of >65 000 lobsters per km² (individuals >50 mm carapace length). This approach may lend itself to broader application with the American lobster.     

Conservation status of New Zealand freshwater fish, 2009

The threat status of 74 freshwater and estuarine fish present in New Zealand was determined. Fifty-one native taxa were ranked of which 67% were considered Threatened or At Risk. A single species was classified as Extinct, the New Zealand grayling, which has not been observed since the 1920s. Four taxa were classified in the highest threat category, Nationally Critical, and a further 10 taxa as Threatened (Nationally Endangered or Nationally Vulnerable). Twenty taxa were ranked in the At Risk group with the majority ranked as Declining. Endemic galaxiids (Galaxiidae) dominated the Threatened and At Risk taxa. The majority (68%) belonged to the Galaxias genus, comprising 81% of recognised taxa in this genus and all five species in the genus Neochanna were also ranked as Threatened or At Risk. In addition to 51 native taxa, a further three fish species were considered colonists and 20 introduced species were classified as naturalised, although two of these are considered rare. The majority of the Threatened species occur in the Canterbury and Otago regions where a suite of rare non-migratory galaxiids exist. Threat mechanisms that were identified as causal in the decline of freshwater fish species were the impact of introduced fish species, declining water quality, effects of water abstraction, loss of habitat via land-use change and land-use activities, and river modifications.     

Geostrophic currents derived from oceanic density measurements north and south of the subtropical convergence east of New Zealand

Temperature and salinity observations at 17 stations off the east coast of New Zealand are presented. Geostrophic current stations just north of the Subtropical Convergence suggest the presence of an anticyclonic eddy similar to but east of that found by Garner in the period February‐March 1963 (Garner 1967). Ridgway (in press) has suggested that eddies formed at East Cape proceed down the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand giving rise to the East Cape Current. It is proposed here that these eddies move east after leaving the coast in the vinicity of the southern limit of the Hikurangi Trench.     

Hydrological observations across the tropical convergence north of New Zealand

Hydrological observations, mainly sea surface temperature measurements, are presented for the triangular region bounded by New Zealand, New Caledonia, and Western Samoa. The existence of the Tropical Convergence and the general seasonal variation of the surface parameters are discussed. A secondary convergence lying between the Subtropical Convergence and the Tropical Convergence is proposed and its relationship to the general surface circulation of the Tasman, Sea is examined.     

Synoptic surveys of lakes Rotorua and Rotoiti

Surface and bottom water samples were collected from 39 widely spaced stations in Lake Rotorua in February 1967 and from 12 stations in Lake Rotoiti in March 1967. In Lake Rotorua, data obtained from these samples showed that small horizontal differences existed between the southern and northern parts of the lake probably related to the higher inflow of plant nutrients at the southern end and to the prevailing southerly wind concentrating phytoplankton populations at the northern end. Lake Rotoiti, which differed from Lake Rotorua in being thermally stratified, showed no important horizontal differences, Vigorous mixing in the strata probably being accomplished by deep seiches except in the shallow western basin of the lake, where the inflow from Lake Rotorua occurs. Serial vertical hauls for a zooplankton survey of Lake Rotoiti were taken from three stations in March 1967. The distribution of zooplankton was complex because diurnal vertical migrations of the animals were combined with horizontal movement of the water layers.     

Heavy metals in some New Zealand commercial sea fishes

To establish a base line against which future pollution may be measured, eight common commercial species of New Zealand sea fish were analysed for cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, lead, manganese, nickel, and zinc. One sample of edible muscle tissue was analysed for each of 70 samples of each species. The internal organs of up to five specimens of each species were also analysed. The fish studied were: kahawai, Arripis trutta, trevally, Caranx lutescens, tarakihi, Cheilodactylis macropterus, snapper, Chrysophrys auratus, moki, Latridopsis ciliaris, hapuku, Polyprion oxygeneios, kingfish, Seriola grandis and gurnard, Trigla kumu.

Although, none of the edible parts of the fish appeared to have trace element levels likely to be a public health problem (cadmium 0.002–0.02 ppm, chromium 0.01–0.04 ppm, copper 0.04–0.95 ppm, iron 0.9–13.5 ppm, lead ‘ 0.14–0.95 ppm, manganese 0.04–2.00 ppm, nickel 0.01–0.08 ppm, zinc 2.0–36.0 ppm), some of the organs (particularly the liver) had relatively high concentrations of elements such as cadmium (up to 54 ppm). Only if some industry were to seek to exploit internal organs of fish for human consumption would such levels become important. There was some evidence for a relationship between trace element concentrations and fish size for copper in kingfish and snapper, iron in hapuku, manganese in gurnard, and for zinc in kingfish and tarakihi. Some element pairs such as copper and zinc, iron and manganese, appeared to have concentrations which were mutually related. It was assumed that the elemental concentrations reported represent natural levels and are not the result of significant man‐made pollution because there are no major industries or large urban centres adjacent to the fishing grounds.     

The effects of beach nourishment on the sandy-beach amphipod Exoediceros fossor: impact and recovery in Botany Bay, New South Wales, Australia

Beach nourishment is increasingly being implemented to address problems of erosion. However, the ecological consequences of nourishment are poorly understood, especially in Australia. In Botany Bay, sand was piped from an intertidal borrow area at Elephant's Trunk to nourish the nearby eroding beach at Towra Point. The effects on an intertidal exoedicerotid amphipod, Exoediceros fossor (Stimpson, 1856), were examined using a beyond-BACI (Before–After, Control–Impact) sampling design. Sampling was conducted before and after engineering operations at sites within the borrow and nourishment locations and multiple control locations. Hypotheses concerning impact and recovery were tested using asymmetrical ANOVAs and two-tailed F-tests. These examined the effects on abundance and spatial variability, respectively. The impact of the engineering operations on abundance was very large at both borrow and nourishment locations. However, recovery started within several weeks and, using space × time interactions as a criterion, appeared to be complete within a year. This conclusion is made cautiously because of low statistical power and because other criteria for recovery suggest that it was not complete at some sites. As beach erosion is likely to increase in severity with rising sea levels and greater storm surges associated with climate change, management authorities will need a better understanding of the ecological effects of beach nourishment.     

Interactions between sediment chemistry and frenulate pogonophores (Annelida) in the north-east Atlantic

The small frenulate pogonophores (Annelida: Pogonophora a.k.a. Siboglinidae) typically inhabit muddy sediments on the continental slope, although a few species occur near hydrothermal vents and cold seeps. We present data on the distribution and habitat characteristics of several species on the European continental shelf and slope from 48°N to 75°N and show how the animals interact with the chemistry of the sediments. The environments inhabited include: shallow (30 m), organic-rich, fjord sediments; slope sediments (1000–2200 m) and methane seeps at 330 m depth. All the species studied obtain nutrition from endosymbiotic bacteria. They take up reduced sulphur species, or in one case, methane, through the posterior parts of their tubes buried in the anoxic sediment. We conclude that most species undertake sulphide ‘mining’, a mechanism previously demonstrated in the bivalves Lucinoma borealis and Thyasira sarsi. These pogonophores participate in the sulphur cycle and effectively lower the sulphide content of the sediments. Our results show that the abundance of frenulate pogonophores increases with increasing sedimentation and with decreasing abundance of other benthos, particularly bioturbating organisms. The maximum sustainable carrying capacity of non-seep sediments for frenulate pogonophores is limited by the rate of sulphate reduction.