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RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Whitebait conservation and protected areas at non-tidal rivermouths: integrating biogeography and environmental controls on īnanga (Galaxias maculatus) spawning grounds

Shane Orchard https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9040-6404 A B C and David R. Schiel A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Marine Ecology Research Group, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.

B Waterways Centre for Freshwater Management, University of Canterbury and Lincoln University, Christchurch, New Zealand.

C Corresponding author. Email: s.orchard@waterlink.nz

Pacific Conservation Biology 28(2) 140-153 https://doi.org/10.1071/PC21004
Submitted: 1 February 2021  Accepted: 29 March 2021   Published: 11 May 2021

Journal Compilation © CSIRO 2022 Open Access CC BY-NC

Abstract

Galaxias maculatus is a declining amphidromous fish that supports New Zealand’s culturally important whitebait fisheries targeting the migratory juvenile stage. Spawning ground protection and rehabilitation is required to reverse historical degradation and improve fisheries prospects alongside conservation goals. Although spawning habitat has been characterised in tidal rivers, there has been no previous study of spawning in non-tidal rivermouths that are open to the sea. We assessed seven non-tidal rivers over 4 months using census surveys to quantify spawning activity, identify environmental cues, and characterise fundamental aspects of the biogeography of spawning grounds. Results include the identification of compact spawning reaches near the rivermouths. Spawning events were triggered by periods of elevated water levels that were often of very short duration, suggesting that potential lunar cues were less important, and that rapid fish movements had likely occurred within the catchment prior to spawning events. Spawning grounds exhibited consistent vertical structuring above typical low-flow levels, with associated horizontal translation away from the river channel leading to increased exposure to anthropogenic stressors and associated management implications for protecting the areas concerned. These consistent patterns provide a sound basis for advancing protective management at non-tidal rivermouths. Attention to flood management, vegetation control, and bankside recreational activities is needed and may be assisted by elucidating the biogeography of spawning grounds. The identification of rapid responses to environmental cues deserves further research to assess floodplain connectivity aspects that enable fish movements in ephemeral flowpaths, and as a confounding factor in commonly used fish survey techniques.

Keywords: coastal lagoons, fisheries conservation, floodplain connectivity, migratory species, riparian zones, spatial planning.


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