Evaluating the importance of mangroves as fish nurseries in selected warm temperate South African estuaries

The value of mangrove habitats as fish nurseries was assessed by comparing communities of early stage and juvenile fishes between estuaries with and without mangroves. Early stage fishes were sampled using boat-based plankton towing while juveniles were sampled by seine netting. Sampling took place at five sites spaced 1 km apart starting near the estuary mouth in four estuaries along the temperate coastline of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Four estuaries were selected based on shared similarities which included catchment area, estuarine area and shared habitats barring the presence of mangroves which occupied the river margins of two systems. Results revealed that early stage and juvenile fish communities (both marine- and estuary-spawned) were similar between systems with and without mangrove habitats. Differences in fish communities among estuaries were rather attributed to axial salinity gradients associated with greater freshwater input, while season and temperature produced significant variances in fish densities with Generalised Additive Models revealing responses of communities to these variables. A common estuarine-dependent fish, Rhabdosargus holubi (Family Sparidae), was further investigated to determine habitat use, residency and dietary patterns in different mangrove habitats. High habitat residency in this species was revealed during a short-term tagging study using Visible Implant Elastomer tags and long-term isotope analysis in juveniles sampled from two contrasting mangrove habitats. A wider feeding niche was observed in an eelgrass-red mangrove connected habitat when compared with more exposed white mangrove areas. Low dependence on mangrove habitats in temperate estuaries is likely due to their tidally dominated inundation and limited refuge potential due to smaller area coverage by mangroves in temperate estuaries. Relatively lower primary productivity in warm temperate mangrove areas, relative to their tropical counterparts, provides no significant feeding advantage or refuge opportunities relative to other available habitats in these estuaries. Warm temperate estuaries, which are both spatially and temporally highly variable, instead host species which are habitat generalists, able to capitalise on these highly dynamic environments

An eco-physiological investigation of fisheries-induced evolution: comparing the resilience of larvae from exploited and unexploited commercial reef fish populations to projected ocean acidification

It is now accepted that anthropogenic-induced climate change is resulting in unprecedented rates of change to marine environments. Marine organisms are being challenged by rapidly increasing temperatures, acidification, expansion of oxygen dead zones, and higher frequencies and magnitudes of extreme weather events. Exploited fish populations are also undergoing selective harvesting. Certain traits, such as large size, fast growth, and/or bold/active behaviours, are being actively targeted and removed from the population gene pool. This selective removal of individuals may compromise the capacity of fish populations to resist or recover from environmental disturbances and reduce their ability to adapt to a changing environment as many of these traits are heritable. As most marine fishes' embryonic and larval stages represent the period when individuals are most sensitive to environmental disturbances, they are a critical bottleneck to population persistence in the face of exploitation and climate change. This thesis aimed to quantify and compare the metabolic physiology, growth, and development of an exploited and endemic sparid, the roman seabream Chrysoblephus laticeps, during the early larval stages under 1) ocean acidification conditions expected by the year 2100 and 2) from populations experiencing dissimilar rates of exploitation. To quantify and compare the physiology of larvae, adult C. laticeps from an exploited population were captured and field-spawned. Fertilised eggs were placed into either control/present-day conditions (pH = 8.03, pCO2 ≈ 420 μatm) or high-pCO2/hypercapnic treatment conditions (pH = 7.63, pCO2 ≈ 1400 μatm). The metabolic physiology of individual larvae was determined using a novel rolling-regression technique on static respirometry data. Here, estimates of the minimum and maximum oxygen consumption rates (VO2) could be determined with high test-retest reliability. The very early developmental stages (yolk-sac stage) appeared resilient to high pCO2 conditions despite being exposed to treatment conditions throughout the embryonic stage. Preflexion larvae showed sensitivity to treatment conditions by exhibiting reduced metabolic and growth rates, consistent with metabolic depression, associated with environmental stress. However, by the onset of flexion, which coincides with gill development, acid-base regulation, and muscle differentiation, metabolic and growth rates of treatment larvae were significantly greater than that of controls. This suggests that acid-base regulation imposes a high cost to maintain internal pH homeostasis. Importantly, these elevated metabolic costs were likely mediated through increased feeding rates in experimental conditions where food was ad libitum. In natural conditions, where food availability may be varied, high pCO2 conditions could be associated with higher mortality rates. Based on evidence that protected/unexploited populations are more genetically diverse and are composed of individuals representing a greater range of metabolic phenotypes, offspring were collected from a protected population experiencing otherwise similar environmental conditions to the exploited population. Metabolic rates of control larvae were generally similar to those of the exploited population. However, minimum rates of VO2 were typically higher for larvae from the protected population at comparable life stages. Preflexion treatment larvae from the protected population did not appear to undergo a period of reduced metabolism or growth compared to their control counterparts. While metabolic rates at the onset of flexion were significantly higher for treatment larvae, this was not associated with growth differences. Growth over-compensation following periods of growth depression is often associated with deleterious effects, such as organ damage and body or developmental malformations. This suggests somewhat improved resilience to ocean acidification conditions. This thesis found evidence that larval C. laticeps are sensitive to ocean acidification conditions expected by 2100. When this stressor is combined with increasing thermal variability, changing current coastal regimes, and heterogeneous food availability, also expected to occur by 2100, ocean acidification may compromise the population persistence of this species. However, an energetics approach to stress-tolerance suggests that larvae from the protected population may inherently show greater resilience to climate change-related environmental stressors. Evidence that exploitation affects the resilience of fish larvae to climate change highlights the need for an evolutionary approach to fisheries management and the importance of spatial protection in maintaining larger and more resilient populations while providing the raw material essential for adaptation.Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, Ichthyology and Fisheries Science, 202

Introduction, establishment and spread of the Southern mouthbrooder Pseudocrenilabrus philander in the Baakens River, Eastern Cape, South Africa

This paper provides evidence for the extralimital establishment and spread of Pseudocrenilabrus philander in the Baakens River, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Since the first occurrence record at a single locality in 1994 this species has now spread throughout the river and the population contains both reproductive adults and juveniles. Gut content analysis demonstrated potential dietary overlap with native fishes and predation on fish larvae. Pseudocrenilabrus philander in the Baakens River therefore satisfies all criteria for an invasive species in this river and was categorised as invasive using a unified framework for biological invasions.Keywords: abundance, cichlid, electrofishing, establishment, invasion, sprea

Effects of Experimental Ocean Acidification on the Larval Morphology and Metabolism of a Temperate Sparid, Chrysoblephus laticeps

Ocean acidification is predicted to have widespread impacts on marine species. The early life stages of fishes, being particularly sensitive to environmental deviations, represent a critical bottleneck to recruitment. We investigated the effects of ocean acidification (∆pH = −0.4) on the oxygen consumption and morphometry during the early ontogeny of a commercially important seabream, Chrysoblephus laticeps, up until flexion. Hatchlings appeared to be tolerant to hypercapnic conditions, exhibiting no difference in oxygen consumption or morphometry between treatments, although the yolk reserves were marginally reduced in the low-pH treatment. The preflexion stages appeared to undergo metabolic depression, exhibiting lower metabolic rates along with lower growth metrics in hypercapnic conditions. However, although the sample sizes were low, the flexion-stage larvae exhibited greater rates of metabolic and growth metric increases in hypercapnic conditions. This study shows that the effects of OA may be stage specific during early ontogeny and potentially related to the development of crucial organs, such as the gills. Future studies investigating the effects of climate change on fish larvae should endeavour to include multiple developmental stages in order to make more accurate predictions on recruitment dynamics for the coming decades

Implantation, orientation and validation of a commercially produced heart-rate logger for use in a perciform teleost fish:

Quantifying how the heart rate of ectothermic organisms responds to environmental conditions (e.g. water temperature) is important information to quantify their sensitivity to environmental change. Heart rate studies have typically been conducted in lab environments where fish are confined. However, commercially available implantable heart rate biologgers provide the opportunity to study free-swimming fish. Our study aimed to determine the applicability of an implantable device, typically used on fusiform-shaped fish (e.g. salmonids), for a perciform fish where morphology and anatomy prevent ventral incisions normally used on fusiform-shaped fish