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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 60(2)

Spatio-temporal dynamics of fish feeding in the lower Mulgrave River, north-eastern Queensland: the influence of seasonal flooding, instream productivity and invertebrate abundance

Thomas S. Rayner A C D , Bradley J. Pusey B and Richard G. Pearson A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld 4811, Australia.

B Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, Qld 4111, Australia.

C Present address: School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.

D Corresponding author. Email: thomas.rayner@unsw.edu.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 60(2) 97-111 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF08055
Submitted: 27 February 2008  Accepted: 3 September 2008   Published: 20 February 2009

Abstract

Wet-season flooding causes dietary shifts in tropical freshwater fish by regulating instream productivity, habitat structure and food availability. These dynamics have been comprehensively documented worldwide, but data are limited for Australia’s Wet Tropics rivers. The aim of the present study was to extend our earlier fish–habitat model for these systems by examining the role of trophic dynamics in determining fish assemblage composition. Chlorophyll a and phaeophytin concentrations, benthic and littoral invertebrates and fish were collected at four sites in the lower Mulgrave River under a range of flow conditions. Wet-season flooding caused significant reductions in instream productivity, whereas habitat disturbance reduced densities and abundances of littoral and benthic invertebrates. However, volumetric gut contents of 1360 fish, from 36 species, revealed seasonal shifts in guild membership by only two species, with fish moving between sites to target their preferred prey items – largely irrespective of differences in habitat structure. As a result, the food consumed by the fish community present at each site closely reflected the seasonal availability of food resources. The present paper questions whether fish community composition in small tropical rivers can be accurately predicted from habitat surrogates alone and encourages consideration of constraints imposed by the trophic dynamics and reproductive ecology of fish.

Additional keywords: Australia, Chordata, diet, flow, food webs, guild, niche, Pisces, tropical, vertebrates.


Acknowledgements

This project was funded by grants from the Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Rainforest Ecology and Management and James Cook University (JCU). Fish were collected under Queensland Department of Primary Industries – Fisheries permit PRM03040F and JCU Animal Care and Ethics permit A818_03. Mike Steele (JCU), Lee Belbin (Blatant Fabrications) and Mark Kennard (Griffith University) assisted with statistical analyses. In-kind support was provided by Queensland Department of Primary Industries – Fisheries. Field assistance was provided by Colton Perna, Zoë Baker, Paul Thuesen, Paul Godfrey, Amanda Soymonoff, Mo Healy, Anne Gulliard, Megan Barnes, Cameron Crothers-Stomp, Andrew Kaus, Andrew Jones, Rusty Ligon and Michael Pusey. Access to private land and other assistance in the field was provided by the Rossi, Thomasen and Moller families. Two anonymous reviewers provided comments on the manuscript.


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