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ASFB Home > Publications > Regional larval fish archives now in operation
Regional larval fish archives now in operation
Availability of an important fisheries resource
See Australian Ichthyoplankton Newsletter, No. 10, August 1996
Jeff Leis and Mark McGrouther
Australian Museum, Sydney
A just-completed FRDC funded program has established archives for larval fish samples taken from a wide variety of field studies. This article provides information on the samples incorporated into the Regional Larval Fish Archives (RLFAs) and contact information for those who want to access the data (both real and potential) that they contain. FRDC funded this program to ensure that the resource provided by the RLFAs was available for study by bona fide fishery researchers, however, it is also likely to be useful to ichthyologists, ecologists, biodiversity researchers, biogeographers, those interested in comparison of present conditions with those in the recent past, and those interested in environmental issues as they relate to fishes.
Background
Studies of larval fishes are often the best way to provide many types of information of great value to fishery biologists and managers of fisheries. These include location of spawning grounds in space and time, determination of habitats used (and required) by fish during their larval phase, fishery-independent estimates of stock size and stock boundaries, discovery of new fisheries, feeding habitats of larvae, condition of larvae, insight into recruitment fluctuations, and historical changes in all of the above. The methods used to sample fish larvae are non-selective in terms of the species they catch, so any larval fish sampling program will catch wide variety of species. This means that a program aimed at, say, whiting will also have sampled snapper, bream, trevally, in fact virtually all the species with larvae in the area at the time the sampling took place.
Preserved samples of larval fishes constitute a valuable source of "potential data" on a wide variety of species of considerable interest to both recreational and commercial fisheries. Typically, a research program is targeted at one or a small group of species, and rarely, if ever, is all the information of interest to fisheries biologists and managers extracted from the samples during the program. Further, new questions continually arise. Therefore, it is critical that the preserved samples be archived at the end of the program to be available in the future when questions arise about other species not studied in the original program, or other aspects of the biology of the original target species. It is much cheaper to archive these samples than to re-take and process them, and in any case, they constitute an irreproducable "snapshot" of conditions at the time of the study. The CalCOFI program off the US west coast is a good example - the archived samples are returned to time and time again as new questions arise or further information is required.
Need
In the past few years, many larval fish research projects have been undertaken in Australia. Larval fish samples have been taken for many different types of research programs, and have been acquired, sorted and identified at great effort and expense. They have served the original purpose for which they were taken, and are now considered surplus. However, they still contain a great deal of unextracted information. The country cannot afford to lose these preserved samples, that cost several million dollars to obtain.
It is vital that these larval fish samples be adequately curated and made available for future needs. However, most universities and other research institutions that hosted the original studies do not have the space, expertise, resources, interest or brief to do this. As has often happened in the past, these valuable and irreplaceable samples are in danger of being destroyed either actively (being thrown away) or through neglect. RLFAs have been established at institutions that have long-term archival care of biological collections as part of their core activities and mission. In most cases, these are the state museums.
What The RLFAS Offer To Researchers
The overriding objective in establishing the RLFAs is to preserve and make available for researchers the larval fish samples from previous studies. In addition to the specimens themselves, each RLFA maintains an extensive database which contains information about the samples: field data (where, when and how the samples were taken, and often information on physical conditions) and identifications of some or all of the larvae, their sizes and numbers. Each RLFA has the ability to perform computer searches for particular taxa, locations, times or other items of interest. At present, these databases contain only the information provided by the people who turned their samples over to the RLFAs. In the case of identifications, these data may be incomplete (eg, not all larvae identified, or some identified only to family level). However, the value of the RLFA is that the specimens are there and can be checked, reidentified, etc. Below, we list the types of data normally available for each sample (Table 3). However, a condition of use of the RLFAs will be that data extracted from the collections be added to the database, so, as the samples are worked on by others, the data available to other researchers will increase. In a very few cases, there may be temporary restrictions in access to certain data, and permission from the original researcher may be necessary before the data can be made available. Also, some RLFAs may have nominal charges for access to the data or samples. The RLFA collections can be studied at the institutions which house them, and in most cases arrangements can be made to loan collections to bona fide investigators. Table 1 lists the RLFA institutions and contact information. Table 2 lists the collections held in each RLFA, along with the geographical area, the chief investigator, and in most cases publications based on the collections. The RFLAs currently contain material from 24 studies constituting 8759 stations, and at the Australian Museum alone, over 351,500 fish larvae. In general, the RLFAs contain material from the local region, however, in some cases, it is the location of the research group doing the study that has determined which RLFA holds the material.
People working on larval fish field studies now and in the future should make arrangements for their collections to be deposited in the RLFA nearest to them upon completion of the work. It is important that contact is made with the RLFA at an early date (ie, in the first few months of the project) to ensure that your collection meets the RLFA criteria, to streamline the hand over of data and samples and to determine whether you will need to budget in order to contribute toward the cost of incorporating your samples into the RLFA. Turning over the collections to the RLFA has advantages for you, the researcher: the material will no longer present you with a storage headache, you can be assured the material will be well looked-after, mention of the lodgement of your material in your publications serves as notification of location of voucher material and relieves you of the burden of dealing with requests for access to specimens or data and you still have access to the material, if needed.
As collections in addition to those listed in Table 2 are deposited in the RLFAs, they will be listed in the ASFB Newsletter. So, stay tuned.
TABLE 1. RLFAs and contact information.
Name of RLFA |
Contact details |
Australian Museum (AM) |
Mr Mark McGrouther |
CSIRO Division of Fisheries Research |
Mr A. Graham |
Museum of Victoria (NMV) |
Ms T. Bardsley |
South Australian Museum (SAMA) |
Mr T. Simm |
Museum of Tropical Queensland (MTQ) |
Dr P. Arnold |
Table 2. Summary of the collections incorporated into the Regional Larval Fish Archives.
State / environment |
Number of samples |
Investigator |
Publication |
Rlfa location |
Qld/coastal (GBR Lagoon off Lizard Is) |
78 |
Leis |
Choat et al 1993 |
AM |
Qld/coastal-oceanic (GBR / Coral Sea) |
574 |
Suthers |
Suthers 1996 |
AM |
NSW/coastal-oceanic (Sydney- Brisbane) |
500 |
Miskiewicz |
Miskiewicz et al 1996 |
AM |
NSW/estuarine (Lake Macquarie) |
734 |
Miskiewicz |
Miskiewicz 1987 |
AM |
NSW/coastal Sydney shelf |
912 |
Gray |
Gray 1993, 1996 Gray et al 1992 |
AM |
NSW/est-coastal(central coast) |
614 |
Kingsford/Suthers |
Kingsford & Suthers 1994 |
AM |
NSW/estuarine (S-N coast) |
450 |
Suthers |
Sutton 1992 |
AM |
NSW/Surf zone (Sydney beaches) |
464 |
Leis |
Leis and Reader 1994 |
AM |
NSW-Vic/coastal-oceanic |
340 |
Lanzing |
- |
AM |
WA/coastal-oceanic (S & W coasts) |
377 |
Fletcher |
Fletcher 1994 |
AM |
WA/estuarine (S & W coasts) |
782 |
Neira |
Neira & Potter 1992, 1994 |
AM |
Tas/coastal-oceanic (east coast) |
830 |
Jordan |
Jordan 1994 |
CSIRO |
SA-WA/oceanic (Great Australian Bight) |
132 |
Stevens |
Stevens et al 1984 |
CSIRO |
WA/coastal oceanic (S&W coasts) |
244 |
Fletcher |
Fletcher 1994 |
CSIRO |
WA/coastal oceanic (NW Shelf) |
355 |
Young |
Young et al 1986 |
CSIRO |
SE Australia (all CSIRO collections) |
50 |
various CSIRO |
- |
CSIRO |
SE Aust/coastal-oceanic (Ichthyoplankton project) |
250 |
Bruce |
Bruce etal 1996 |
CSIRO |
Tas/coastal-oceanic (circum-island) |
400 |
Thresher |
Bruce 1988; Gunn et al 1989; Jordan and Bruce 1993; Lyne & Thresher 1995; Thresher et al 1988a; Thresher et al 1988b |
CSIRO |
Tas/coastal (Storm Bay) |
100 |
Griffiths |
Gunn & Thresher 1991 |
CSIRO |
Tas/coastal-oceanic (east coast) |
20 |
Young |
- |
CSIRO |
Qld/coastal (AIMS Transect, GBR) |
60 |
Williams |
Williams et al 1988 |
MTQ |
Qld/coastal-oceanic (Myrmidon Reef, GBR) - Williams |
96 |
Williams |
Williams and English 1992 |
MTQ |
Vic/estuarine (Pt Phillip Bay) |
172 |
Jenkins |
Jenkins 1986 |
NMV |
Vic/estuarine (Gippsland Lakes) |
24 |
Rigby |
Rigby 1984 |
NMV |
WA/estuarine (Cockburn Sound) |
20 |
Jonker |
Jonker 1993 |
NMV |
SA/est.-coast Adelaide (Spencer & St. Vincent Gulf) |
80 |
Bruce |
Bruce and Short 1992 |
SAM |
Table 3: Types of data normally stored at RLFAs
Collecting Data
- Field number
- Sampling protocol (eg surface, oblique)
- Type of device
- Mouth area (sq metres)
- Mesh size
- Volume sampled (cubic metres)
- Distance travelled
- Tow speed (metres/second)
- Environment
Locality Data
- Country
- Location
- Collection date and time
- Capture and water depth
- Collector
- Latitude and Longitude
Specimen Data
- Condition when received
- Source
- Original fixative
- Preservative when received
- Size of specimens
- Number of specimens
- Identifier, year of identification, identification accuracy
Taxonomic Data
- Family, Genus, Species, Subspecies
References
1. Bruce, B. D. (1988). Larval development of blue grenadier Macruronus novaezelandiae (Hector), in Tasmanian waters. Fish Bull US 86: 199-128.
2. Bruce, B.D. and D.A. Short. 1992. Observations on the distribution of larval fish in relation to a frontal zone at the mouth of Spencer Gulf, South Australia. P.124-137 in D.A Hancock (ed.). Larval Biology, Bureau of Rural Resources Proceedings 15. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.
3. Bruce, B D.; C. A. Sutton and R. E. Thresher (1996). An ichthyoplankton based analysis of the spawning distribution and stock structure of temperate Australian finfish. FRDC Final Report: Grant #92/019, 65pp.
4. Choat, J.H., P.J. Doherty, B.A. Kerrigan and J.M. Leis. 1993. A comparison of towed nets, purse seine, and light-aggregation devices for sampling larvae and pelagic juveniles of coral reef fishes. U.S. Fishery Bulletin 91: 195-209.
5. Fletcher, W.J. 1994. Interseasonal variation in the transport of pilchard eggs and larvae off southern Western Australia. Marine Ecology Progress Series 111: 209-224.
6. Gray, C.A. 1993. Horizontal and vertical trends in the distributions of larval fishes in coastal waters off central New South Wales, Australia. Marine Biology 116: 649-666.
7. Gray, C.A. 1996. Do thermoclines explain the vertical distributions of larval fishes in the dynamic coastal waters of south-eastern Australia? Marine and Freshwater Research. 47(2): 183-190.
8. Gray, C.A., N.M. Otway, F.A. Laurenson, A.G. Miskiewicz and R.L. Pethebridge. 1992. Distribution and abundance of marine fish larvae in relation to effluent plumes from sewage outfalls and depth of water. Marine Biology 113: 549-559.
9. Gunn, J.S., B.D. Bruce, D.M. Furlani, R.E. Thresher and S.J.M. Blaber. 1989. Timing and location of spawning of blue grenadier, Macruronus novaezelandiae (Teleostei; Merlucciidae) in Australian coastal waters. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 40: 97-112.
10. Gunn, J.S. and R.E. Thresher. 1991. Viviparity and the reproductive ecology of clinid fishes (Clinidae) from temperate Australian waters. Environmental Biology of Fishes 31: 323-344.
11. Jenkins, G.P. 1986. Composition, seasonality and distribution of Ichthyoplankton in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria. Australian Journal of Marine, Freshwater Reserch 1986, 37: 507-520.
12. Jonker, Liesl J. 1993. Comparison of the larval fish assemblages in healthy and degraded seagrass meadows in Cockburn Sound, Western Australia. Honours Thesis, Murdoch University, 47 pp.
13. Jordan, A.R. 1994. Age, growth and back-calculated birthdate distributions of larval jack mackerel, Trachurus declivis (Pisces: Carangidae) from eastern Tasmanian coastal waters. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 45: 19-33.
14. Jordan, A. R. and B. D. Bruce (1993). Larval development of three roughy species complexes (Pisces: Trachichthyidae), from southern Australian waters, with comments on the occurrence of orange roughy larvae, Hoplostethus atlanticus. Fishery Bulletin US 91: 76-86.
15. Kingsford, M.J. and I.M. Suthers. 1994. Dynamic estuarine plumes and fronts: importance to small fish and plankton in coastal waters of N.S.W., Australia. Continental Shelf Research 14(6): 655-672.
16. Leis, J.M. and S.E. Reader. 1994. Fish larvae in Australian surf zones - who's there and when, and some sampling problems. Australian Society for Fish Biology 28th Annual Conference Abstracts: 42.
17. Lyne, V.D. and Thresher, R.E. (1995). Dispersal and advection of Macruronus novaezelandiae larvae off Tasmania: simulation of the effects of physical forcing on larval distribution. in Sammarco, P. (ed) Multidisciplinary studies of recruitment of Australian Marine populations. Springer Verlag.
18. Miskiewicz, A.G. 1987. Taxonomy and ecology of fish larvae in Lake Macquarie and New South Wales coastal waters. Ph.D. Thesis, University of New South Wales, Sydney.
19. Miskiewicz, A.G., B.D. Bruce and P. Dixon. 1996. Distribution of tailor (Pomatomus saltatrix) larvae along the coast of New South Wales, Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research 47(2): 331-336.
20. Neira, F.J. and I.C. Potter. 1992. The ichthyoplankton of a seasonally closed estuary in temperate Australia. Does an extended period of opening influence species composition? Journal of Fish Biology 41: 935-953.
21. Neira, F.J. and I.C. Potter. 1994. The larval fish assemblage of the Nornalup-Walpole Estuary, a permanently open estuary on the southern coast of Western Australia. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 45: 1193-1207.
22. Rigby, Bruce A. 1984. The ecology of fish inhabiting estuarine seagrass habitats in the Gippsland Lakes, Victoria. Masters Thesis, University of Melbourne.
23. Stevens, J. D. H. F. Hausfield and S. R. Davenport. 1984. Observations on the biology, distribution and abundance of Trachurus declivis, Sardinops neopilchardus and Scomber australasicus in the Great Australian Bight. CSIRO Marine Laboratories Report No. 164, 27pp.
24. Suthers, I.M. 1996. Spatial variability of recent otolith growth and RNA indices in pelagic juvenile Diaphus kapalae (Myctophidae): an effect of flow disturbance near an island? Marine and Freshwater Research 47(2): 273-282.
25. Sutton, C. 1992. A survey of larval fish communities in six estuaries along the N.S.W. coast; with emphasis on the effects of industrialisation. Honours Thesis, Univ. N.S.W.
26. Thresher, R. E.; B D Bruce, D. M. Furlani and J. S. Gunn (1988a). Distribution, advection and growth of larvae of the southern temperate gadoid Macruronus novaezelandiae in Australian coastal waters. Fish Bull US. 87: 29-48.
27. Thresher, R. E.; J S Gunn, B. D. Bruce and D. M. Furlani (1988b). Spawning by blue grenadier in Australian coastal waters. Aust Fisheries May 1988: 47-51.
28. Young, P.C., J.M. Leis and H.F. Hausfeld. 1986. Seasonal and spatial distribution of fish larvae in waters over the North West Continental Shelf of Western Australia. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 31: 209-222.
29. Williams, D. McB., P. Dixon and S. English. 1988. Cross-shelf distribution of copepods and fish larvae across the central Great Barrier Reef. Marine Biology 99: 577-589.
30. Williams, D. McB. and S. English. 1992. Distribution of fish larvae around a coral reef: direct detection of a meso-scale, multi-specific patch? Continental Shelf Research 12 (7/8): 923-937.