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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 59(5)

Patterns of seagrass biomass removal by two temperate Australian fishes (Monacanthidae)

Anna Wressnig A and David J. Booth A C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Institute for Water and Environmental Resource Management, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Technology, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia.

B Present address: Marine Biological Laboratory, 7 MBL Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543-1015, USA.

C Corresponding author. Email: David.Booth@uts.edu.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 59(5) 408-417 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF07209
Submitted: 3 November 2007  Accepted: 20 March 2008   Published: 6 June 2008

Abstract

Despite the global significance of nearshore seagrass beds, little is known of their trophodynamic processes. Herbivory by seagrass fishes is thought to be significant but some species previously suspected to be herbivores may be largely detritivorous. Patterns of grazing on the seagrass Posidonia australis by two abundant monacanthid fishes, Meuschenia freycineti and Meuschenia trachylepis, were determined by calculating the removal of seagrass biomass in three Australian estuaries over 14 months. M. freycineti removed significantly more seagrass biomass than M. trachylepis but seagrass biomass removed by both species varied widely across the three estuaries over time. Median amounts of seagrass removal were generally low for all sites compared with standing stock biomass of P. australis leaves and its epiphytes. Nevertheless, grazing by the two species caused high localised rates of removal (up to 90 mg dry weight of P. australis with epibiota per m2) in winter, the season when seagrass growth is least. Such removal rates are far greater than those reported for any other fish grazer in P. australis. These two fish species directly affect seagrass biomass and potentially alter the trophodynamics of P. australis seagrass beds, especially when grazing intensity is high during the season of lowest seagrass growth.

Additional keywords: daily ration, epiphytes, grazing, Posidonia australis.


Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank W. Figueira for advice on Monte Carlo methods. C. McIntyre, M. Lewis, P. York, M. Radejewski and others who assisted with the field work. We are grateful to G. P. Jones, I. M. Suthers and K. Clements for their constructive reviews of the PhD thesis from which this paper eventuated and four anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on earlier drafts of this manuscript. The study was conducted under permits issued by the NSW Department of Primary Industries (Agriculture and Fisheries Division) and the UTS Animal Care and Ethics Committee. This is Contribution Number 0014 from the Sydney Institute of Marine Science.


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