Fish in shallow areas in Moreton Bay, Queensland and factors affecting their distribution

Abstract

Five shallow areas (< 4 m in depth) in Moreton Bay were selected to examine fish communities. These areas can be categorized as sand-drifting, sea grass, river mouth, mangrove fringe and sewage outlet. A total of 86 fish species were recorded. Five species (6%) were regarded as true marine fish but these were of rare occurrence (0·5%). Four species (5%) were highly abundant (51%) and 57 species (66%) were represented by low numbers of fish (5%). The sewage outlet and the river mouth sites were found to contain the highest number of fish with relatively low numbers of species. The sand-drifting and the sea grass sites were different in fish fauna, and both were different from the remaining three sites which were of high similarity in fish faunal groups. Food availability, preference for habitats, sea grass vegetation, juvenile/adult segregation, season of juvenile recruitment and hydrological characteristics were thought to be important factors affecting the distribution of these species of fish.