TY - JOUR

T1 - Restoring depleted coral-reef fish populations through recruitment enhancement

T2 - a proof of concept

AU - Heenan, A

AU - Meekan, M G

AU - Healy, S D

AU - Simpson, Stephen

AU - Braithwaite, V A

PY - 2009/11

Y1 - 2009/11

N2 - To determine whether enhancing the survival of new recruits is a sensible target for the restorative management of depleted coral-reef fish populations, settlement-stage ambon damsel fish Pomacentrus amboinensis were captured, tagged and then either released immediately onto small artificial reefs or held in aquaria for 1 week prior to release. Holding conditions were varied to determine whether they affected survival of fish: half the fish were held in bare tanks (non-enriched) and the other half in tanks containing coral and sand (enriched). Holding fish for this short period had a significantly positive effect on survivorship relative to the settlement-stage treatment group that were released immediately. The enrichment of holding conditions made no appreciable difference on the survival of fish once released onto the reef. It did, however, have a positive effect on the survival of fish while in captivity, thus supporting the case for the provision of simple environmental enrichment in fish husbandry. Collecting and holding settlement-stage fish for at least a week before release appear to increase the short-term survival of released fish; whether it is an effective method for longer-term enhancement of locally depleted coral-reef fish populations will require further study.

AB - To determine whether enhancing the survival of new recruits is a sensible target for the restorative management of depleted coral-reef fish populations, settlement-stage ambon damsel fish Pomacentrus amboinensis were captured, tagged and then either released immediately onto small artificial reefs or held in aquaria for 1 week prior to release. Holding conditions were varied to determine whether they affected survival of fish: half the fish were held in bare tanks (non-enriched) and the other half in tanks containing coral and sand (enriched). Holding fish for this short period had a significantly positive effect on survivorship relative to the settlement-stage treatment group that were released immediately. The enrichment of holding conditions made no appreciable difference on the survival of fish once released onto the reef. It did, however, have a positive effect on the survival of fish while in captivity, thus supporting the case for the provision of simple environmental enrichment in fish husbandry. Collecting and holding settlement-stage fish for at least a week before release appear to increase the short-term survival of released fish; whether it is an effective method for longer-term enhancement of locally depleted coral-reef fish populations will require further study.

KW - Animals

KW - Body Size

KW - Coral Reefs

KW - Environmental Restoration and Remediation

KW - Perciformes

KW - Survival Analysis

KW - Journal Article

KW - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

U2 - 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2009.02401.x

DO - 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2009.02401.x

M3 - Article

C2 - 20738653

VL - 75

SP - 1857

EP - 1867

JO - Journal of Fish Biology

JF - Journal of Fish Biology

SN - 0022-1112

IS - 7

ER -