Fish Inventories Research Articles

Habitat Inventory, Diversity and Structural Modification of Hill-Stream Fishes of Noa Dihing River, Eastern Himalayan Hotspot, Arunachal Pradesh, Northeast India

Habitat Inventory, Diversity and Structural Modification of Hill-Stream Fishes of Noa Dihing River, Eastern Himalayan Hotspot, Arunachal Pradesh, Northeast India

Contrasting strengths of eDNA and electrofishing compared to historic records for assessing fish community diversity and composition

In times of rapid environmental changes, baseline biodiversity data are crucial for management. In freshwaters, fish inventories are commonly based on the capture and morphological identification of specimens. The sampling of environmental DNA (eDNA) provides an alternative to assess diversity across large catchments. Here, we used extensive historic data of fish communities collected across 89 river sites in all major catchments of Switzerland and compared their diversity and community composition to a single campaign of eDNA and electrofishing, respectively. Locally, we found that eDNA provided diversity estimates similar to the integrated historic richness, while the electrofishing campaign captured a significantly lower local richness. Fish species locally recorded by electrofishing were nested (Jaccard's dissimilarity index) within the respective eDNA community for most sites. Finally, eDNA sequence reads positively correlated with the overall electrofishing biomass. Despite the congruences, the eDNA data did not correlate well with the electrofishing water quality index. Overall, eDNA was more accurately assessing overall diversity than a simultaneous electrofishing campaign, but yet cannot be directly used to calculate fish-based water quality indices.

First record of Mastacembelus notophthalmus (Actinopterygii: Synbranchiformes: Mastacembelidae) for Belitung Island, Indonesia

This study was conducted aiming to record for the first time the occurrence of Mastacembelus notophthalmus Roberts, 1989 in Belitung Island (Indonesia), and update the geographic distribution of this species. Although this species is categorized as LC according to the IUCN Red List, it is rarely reported in fish inventories, with few specimens sampled. Moreover, data on the geographic distribution, population size, and other population details of M. notophthalmus are scarce and insufficient to predict possible threats and propose appropriate conservation measures and policies. A single specimen of Mastacembelus was collected using a fish trap on 20 February 2023, in a swamp, located in the middle course of the Lenggang River, Belitung Island, Indonesia. This specimen was identified as M. notophthalmus and this finding constitutes the southernmost record for this species, expanding its geographic range. In addition, the new record site is about 700 km south-east of the nearest locality in Peninsular Malaysia, about 250 km south-east of the nearest locality in Bangka Island, about 600 km south-east of the nearest locality in Sumatra, and about 500 km south-west from the nearest locality in Borneo. Better ecological and biological data concerning distribution, habitat, and stressors is crucial to reassess the conservation status of M. notophthalmus, and possible future conservation measures and policies. Therefore, we emphasize here the urgency for more comprehensive and accurate data to facilitate conservation assessments and management in Indonesia.

NEOTROPICAL FRESHWATER FISHES: A dataset of occurrence and abundance of freshwater fishes in the Neotropics.

The Neotropical region hosts 4225 freshwater fish species, ranking first among the world's most diverse regions for freshwater fishes. Our NEOTROPICAL FRESHWATER FISHES data set is the first to produce a large-scale Neotropical freshwater fish inventory, covering the entire Neotropical region from Mexico and the Caribbean in the north to the southern limits in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay. We compiled 185,787 distribution records, with unique georeferenced coordinates, for the 4225 species, represented by occurrence and abundance data. The number of species for the most numerous orders are as follows: Characiformes (1289), Siluriformes (1384), Cichliformes (354), Cyprinodontiformes (245), and Gymnotiformes (135). The most recorded species was the characid Astyanax fasciatus (4696 records). We registered 116,802 distribution records for native species, compared to 1802 distribution records for nonnative species. The main aim of the NEOTROPICAL FRESHWATER FISHES data set was to make these occurrence and abundance data accessible for international researchers to develop ecological and macroecological studies, from local to regional scales, with focal fish species, families, or orders. We anticipate that the NEOTROPICAL FRESHWATER FISHES data set will be valuable for studies on a wide range of ecological processes, such as trophic cascades, fishery pressure, the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation, and the impacts of species invasion and climate change. There are no copyright restrictions on the data, and please cite this data paper when using the data in publications.

Steps forward in biomonitoring 2.0: eDNA Metabarcoding and community-level modelling allow the assessment of complex drivers of Neotropical fish diversity.

The way we inventory and monitor biodiversity globally has been revolutionized by new molecular and ecological methods (Pawlowski et al 2021). Nonetheless, the Neotropical realm still represents a great challenge to our understanding of species distribution patterns and the role played by different drivers of biodiversity. The paper by Coutant et al. (2022) is a great advance towards a holistic approach to quantifying the contribution of environmental and anthropogenic factors that drive community assembly in the Amazon, and how we can apply such knowledge to guide future monitoring programmes. Disentangling the relative roles played by multiple drivers of biodiversity allowed them to also highlight hotspot areas hosting unique freshwater fish diversity and to pinpoint conservation priorities. Toward this end, the authors applied an innovative framework that included the use of environmental DNA (eDNA) to conduct fish inventories combined with community-level modelling. Their multifaceted approach accounting for taxonomic and functional measures of biodiversity allowed a thorough evaluation of ecological patterns. They reported a mismatch between functional and taxonomic biodiversity in their responses to geographical, environmental, and anthropogenic factors. Functional diversity was influenced by environmental and anthropogenic factors, while fish taxonomic diversity was determined by dispersal restrictions at both intra and inter-basin scales in the Guiana Shield. The role played by dispersal limitation and human activities in shaping fish diversity in large rivers is very relevant considering that Amazonian freshwater ecosystems are facing large-scale degradation due to human activities greatly impairing river connectivity (Castello & Macedo, 2016).

Environmental DNA reveals a mismatch between diversity facets of Amazonian fishes in response to contrasting geographical, environmental and anthropogenic effects.

Freshwater ecosystems are among the most endangered ecosystem in the world. Understanding how human activities affect these ecosystems requires disentangling and quantifying the contribution of the factors driving community assembly. While it has been largely studied in temperate freshwaters, tropical ecosystems remain challenging to study due to the high species richness and the lack of knowledge on species distribution. Here, the use of eDNA-based fish inventories combined to a community-level modelling approach allowed depicting of assembly rules and quantifying the relative contribution of geographic, environmental and anthropic factors to fish assembly. We then used the model predictions to map spatial biodiversity and assess the representativity of sites surveyed in French Guiana within the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) and highlighted areas that should host unique freshwater fish assemblages. We demonstrated a mismatch between the taxonomic and functional diversity. Taxonomic assemblages between but also within basins were mainly the results of dispersal limitation resulting from basin isolation and natural river barriers. Contrastingly, functional assemblages were ruled by environmental and anthropic factors. The regional mapping of fish diversity indicated that the sites surveyed within the EU WFD had a better representativity of the regional functional diversity than taxonomic diversity. Importantly, we also showed that the assemblages expected to be the most altered by anthropic factors were the most poorly represented in terms of functional diversity in the surveyed sites. The predictions of unique functional and taxonomic assemblages could, therefore, guide the establishment of new survey sites to increase fish diversity representativity and improve this monitoring program.

Management of Marine Fish Inventory at Fish Auction Place in Tenda Village, Hulonthalangi District, Gorontalo City

This research aims to improve the welfare of the people of Gorontalo through the application/development of ways to maintain the existence of their business by managing inventory properly and correctly in accordance with applicable standards. The specific objective to be achieved is to find out how to manage marine fish stocks at the Fish Auction Place (TPI) located in the Tenda village, Hulonthalangi sub-district, Gorontalo City. This study uses a qualitative method by using interviews and observations as stages in data collection. From the results of the research that has been carried out, it shows that the management of marine fish stocks at TPI has been going well because of a good work system among all people involved in the Gorontalo Marine Fish Auction Place and good management of the fish stock caught

FISHES (Actinopteri, Characiformes) FROM THE TAPYTA RESERVE WITH THREE NEW ADDITIONS TO THE PARAGUAYAN ICHTHYOFAUNA

The Characiform fish species from the Tapyta Reserve and surrounding area, Caazapa, Paraguay, were inventoried during a year with electrofishing, netting, and trapping. A total of 20 species were registered, being Characidae the richest family. We also report three species as new records to the Paraguayan ichthyofauna and discuss the update of the inventory of fishes from Paraguay.

Ichthyofauna of the Água das Araras stream, Paranapanema River basin, upper Paraná River system, Southern Brazil

ABSTRACT This study comprises the first fish inventory of the Água das Araras stream, a small tributary of the Laranjinha River, in the upper Paraná River basin. Four samplings were carried out seasonally between June 2010 and July 2011, in 12 collecting sites distributed from the headwater to the mouth of Água das Araras stream and its tributaries, using seines and gill nets to capture specimens. A total of 5,328 specimens were collected, distributed in six orders, 15 families, 33 genera, and 41 species. The most representative orders, in terms of species richness, were Siluriformes and Characiformes. Among the families, Characidae (eight species) and Loricariidae (seven species) presented higher richness contributing together with approximately 36.6% of all collected species. The most frequent species captured in ≥75% of the sampled sites were Astyanax lacustris, Characidium aff. zebra, Corydoras aeneus, and Imparfinis schubarti. The classification of species with the Kendeigh Index highlighted the following ranking of the more abundant species: Phalloceros harpagos, C. aeneus, A. lacustris, and I. schubarti. Finally, our results emphasize the importance of sampling small aquatic bodies, revealing their potential for maintaining a significant portion of fish diversity in Neotropical freshwater environments.

Underwater photo contests to complement coastal fish inventories: results from two Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas

Assessing fish assemblages and providing reliable fish inventories are tasks of particular relevance for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). In this study we demonstrated the usefulness of underwater photo contests as complementary tools to accomplish this goal. We examined a total of 3513 underwater pictures taken by both free-diving and SCUBA during two Italian photo contests organized by the Italian Federation of Sport Fishing and Underwater Activities (FIPSAS). The competitions, held during the years 2017-2018, took place in the MPAs of Punta Campanella (Tyrrhenian Sea) and Capo Rizzuto (Ionian Sea). Overall, we identified 97 fish species: 89 at Punta Campanella and 75 at Capo Rizzuto MPA, occurring in a depth range of 0-19 m across different coastal habitats. This number resulted to be considerably higher than that reported with other census techniques and close to the maximum number of species, as evidenced by accumulation curves. Significant differences in species richness were highlighted at the level of both location and habitat type. Reasons of these differences are discussed, along with the advantages and limitations of the underwater photo contest as a participatory tool for gaining regular updates on coastal fish inventories in Marine Protected Areas and beyond.

Diversity studies of freshwater goby species from three rivers ecosystem in Luwuk Banggai, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia

Inland public water areas which include freshwater lakes and several rivers in Sulawesi Island have native and endemic fish species which potential as ornamental fish. One of them is a member of Gobiidae. Several studies have reported the species of freshwater goby in Central Sulawesi Province. However, the information is still lacking, especially in the Luwuk Banggai, Central Sulawesi. Therefore, research is needed to examine the diversity of gobies in this area. Observations were conducted in three rivers (Salodik, Kintom, and Simpong). The results of fish inventory in the three Luwuk Banggai rivers obtained 131 fish specimens, namely 26 specimens from the Salodik river, 29 specimens from the Kintom river, and 76 specimens from the Simpong river. The Simpong River has the highest Shannon-Wiener index (H’) followed by the Kintom and Salodik rivers, which are 2.6313, 2.0114, and 1.3656, respectively. Similarity analysis of the three rivers produced 2 clusters. The Salodik River in fish diversity shows differences with the other two rivers, while the Simpong and Kintom rivers are in one cluster. Further research is needed related to the biodiversity of gobies and their relationship to habitat characteristics and river water quality in the Luwuk Banggai.

The first unified inventory of non-native fishes of the South Caucasian countries, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia

The South Caucasus (SC) region is recognized for its high biological diversity and various endemic animal taxa. The area has experienced many fish introductions over the years, but the overall information about non-native fishes in the three SC countries, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia did not exist. Although these three countries belong to the Kura River drainage, Caspian Sea basin (only the western half of Georgia drains into the Black Sea), the legislative framework for each country regarding introduction of non-native fish species and their treatment is different and poorly developed. The goal of the present study was to make an initial inventory of non-native fish species in the three SC countries, and summarize the existing knowledge as a basis for future risk assessment models and formulation of regional management policies. Here, we present a unified list of 27 non-native species recorded in the wild in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. Among these 27 species, eight were translocated from the Black Sea basin to the Caspian Sea basin. Out of these 27 non-native fishes, 15 species have become established (three of them being considered invasive) and six fish species could not survive in the wild.

Fish inventory and fishing practices in Candaba swamp, Philippines: their implication to fishermen’s income

This study generally aimed to make an inventory of fishes in Candaba Swamp and documented the fishing practices of the local fishermen as they are related to their income. The study documented 14 different species of fishes, each representing 14 families in the Barangays of San Agustin and Dukma Paralaya. The fourteen species were the Elopshawaiensis, Glossobiusgiurus, Megalops cyprinoides,Cyprinuscarpio, Trichopodus pectoralis, Clariasbatrachus, Hypostomus plecostomus, Arius dispar, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix, Anabas testudineus, Carassiuscarasius, Labeorohita, Hypophthalmichthysnobilis,
 Oreochromis niloticus. The Inventory recorded the Tilapia,Common Carp and Hito species as the most dominant species in Candaba Swamp. Fishermen’s ages were between 20 to 89, most of them were between 50-59, used the “panti” (kitig) as fishing gear and with daily income ranging from 100 pesos to 1,500 pesos. The total income of the fisherman during the wet season is from 1,000 pesos to 10,000 pesos, and the daily expenses in each fishing trip is from 20 pesos to 100 pesos which is mostly used for gasoline. The fishermen’s income depended on the number of fishes they catch which was affected by changes in season. The Cost-Benefit-Analysis showed a net income Of P281.27 per day with a Return of Investment of 174.4%.

Ichthyofauna of the ribeirão Sucuri, tributary of rio Tietê, upper rio Paraná basin, southeastern Brazil

The ribeirão Sucuri, a tributary of the rio Tietê, and part of the upper rio Paraná basin, is located in the municipality of Pongaí, São Paulo state. The ichthyofauna of ribeirão Sucuri was sampled at nine collection sites in May 2018. Our study captured 408 specimens representing five orders, 11 families, and 35 species. Among the species collected, two have not been previously reported from the rio Tietê basin: Eigenmannia guairaca Peixoto, Dutra & Wosiacki, 2015 and Hoplias misionera Rosso, Mabragaña, González-Castro, Delpiani, Avigliano, Schenone & Días de Astarloa, 2016. Additionally, four species were found that are non-native: Hoplias misionera, Poecilia reticulata Peters, 1859, Roeboides descalvadensis Fowler, 1932, and Satanoperca sp. This study represents the first fish inventory of a tributary on the left margin of the Tietê-Batalha sub-basin and only the second for this portion of the rio Tietê. Our results increase to 55 the number of species recorded from this sub-basin and add data on the putative morphological variation in several species.

Can sambaquis (shell mounds) be used as records of the Holocene marine fish biodiversity?

The documented quality of the zooarchaeological remains found in sambaquis is an important issue for ecologists who increasingly consider this material as a possible record of historical biodiversity to extend the observation periods of their analyses. In this work ichthyological inventories based on zooarchaeological remains were used to test the hypothesis that they do not differ statistically from those constructed by sampling current ichthyological diversity. Ichthyological records of 68 sambaquis of the Brazilian southeast coast were systematised. Data analyses were done based on taxa richness, taxonomic distinctness and food guild composition approaches. All analyses failed to show significant differences between sambaqui and modern fish inventories. Such result was kept for all tested scales and for the different studied regions. The current results indicate that sambaquis contain records of past species composition and therefore of Holocene biodiversity. It is concluded that sambaqui zooarchaeological remains should not be neglected in ecological studies and represent a quality alternative to extend the temporal scale of these studies.

Coastal fish diversity of the Socotra Archipelago, Yemen.

The Socotra Archipelago, located in the eastern Gulf of Aden, has a unique marine environment which combines tropical and 'pseudo-temperate' elements. Studies on the fish biogeography of the archipelago, partially framed in regional studies, have substantially outpaced critical elementary research on the archipelago's fish diversity. The present study seeks to close this gap and identifies the Socotra Archipelago as a major hotspot of coastal fish diversity in the Indian Ocean. The archipelago supports unique coastal fish assemblages which are predominantly composed of coral-associated ("reef") species, in spite of the limited biogenic reef frameworks. A Preliminary Checklist comprises 682 species with confirmed records and a "Working List" includes an additional 51 records, totalling 733 faunal records in 108 families. The family Labridae is the most speciose, followed by Gobiidae, Pomacentridae, Serranidae and Chaetodontidae. The species richness of the archipelago is the highest when compared to adjacent Arabian ecoregions. The richness of the Acanthuridae, Chaetodontidae, Labridae, Pomacentridae and Pseudochromidae stand out as particularily high, and the richness of several families is as high as or higher than in the entire Red Sea. The total archipelagic richness is extrapolated at up to 875 species based on incidence-based richness models and expert opinion. Inshore fish inventories, covering 497 species, found between 14 and 132 species per site (x̄ = 66). Site diversity decreased across the archipelago from west to east and from north to south. Total fish diversity was highest around Socotra Island, followed by Abd al-Kuri Kal Farun and Darsa Samha. Occurrence frequencies were very unevenly distributed and dominated by Pomacentrus caeruleus and Thalassoma lunare, whilst many species were infrequent. The fish assemblages are dominated by species from the Indo-West Pacific and the north-western Indian Ocean. The assemblages are rich in rare species and hybrids, and include a low number of endemics (4-5), and a high number of species with far-reaching and Western Indian Ocean ranges.

Fishes of the Mitaraka Mountains (French Guiana)

The “Our planet reviewed” expedition allowed to investigate the fish fauna from the Mitaraka Mountain Range (French Guiana). We sampled fishes at 14 sites using complementary sampling methods including rotenone, underwater observation, seine, cast nets, traps and hooks. We present the first detailed fish inventories from this region. Thirty eight species belonging to 16 families were observed, and at least one unknown species belonging to the genus Jupiaba Zanata, 1997 was collected. At two torrential sites we recorded an unusual fish assemblage made of a single Trichomycteridae species, Ituglanis nebulosus de Pinna & Keith, 2003. A few rare species were also recorded such as Pimelodella procera Mees, 1983 hereby extending its known distribution 100 km Southward. Anablepsoides gaucheri (Keith, Nandrin & Le Bail, 2006) was collected for the first time since its description in 2006. This species was collected in a stream located 15 km eastern from its type location, revealing its distribution might span over the entire Mitaraka range. Overall, the species turnover between sites was high even between sites with similar environmental conditions, suggesting that dispersal limitation is playing a significant role in fish assemblage composition. This indicates that complementary inventories in nearby areas may still provide new species and original information on the fish fauna inhabiting small streams of Southern French Guiana.

Optimizing environmental DNA sampling effort for fish inventories in tropical streams and rivers

Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding is a promising tool to estimate aquatic biodiversity. It is based on the capture of DNA from a water sample. The sampled water volume, a crucial aspect for efficient species detection, has been empirically variable (ranging from few centiliters to tens of liters). This results in a high variability of sampling effort across studies, making comparisons difficult and raising uncertainties about the completeness of eDNA inventories. Our aim was to determine the sampling effort (filtered water volume) needed to get optimal inventories of fish assemblages in species-rich tropical streams and rivers using eDNA. Ten DNA replicates were collected in six Guianese sites (3 streams and 3 rivers), resulting in sampling efforts ranging from 17 to 340 liters of water. We show that sampling 34 liters of water detected more than 64% of the expected fish fauna and permitted to distinguish the fauna between sites and between ecosystem types (stream versus rivers). Above 68 liters, the number of detected species per site increased slightly, with a detection rate higher than 71%. Increasing sampling effort up to 340 liters provided little additional information, testifying that filtering 34 to 68 liters is sufficient to inventory most of the fauna in highly diverse tropical aquatic ecosystems.

Freshwater fishes of the Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses and adjacent areas

Abstract: We present here an embracing freshwater fish inventory of the Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses and adjacent areas, reporting 49 fish species, 33 of which were identified accurately at the species level, representing ten orders and 25 fish families that range from obligate freshwater to estuarine organisms. This number of species is much larger than two previous studies for the park, each reporting just 12 and 33 fishes occurring on freshwater environments. Among the 49 freshwater species recorded in this study, 14 are new records for the Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses, and just one corresponds to an introduced species. Some of the 14 new records in the Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses, cited above, as well as some of the 16 species which we are not able to identify accurately at the species level, could include undescribed species, but more study is necessary before sorting out which species are truly undescribed, and which are already described ones. The orders reported by this survey which comprise the highest percentage of species richness, excluding introduced species, were: Characiformes, Cichliformes and Siluriformes, in the same ranking position, and Gymnotiformes, as expected for Neotropical freshwater surveys. The families with the highest number of species, excluding non-native species, were: Characidae, followed by Cichlidae, and Loricariidae. Out of the 33 species herein identified accurately at the species level, five of them are species typically found in brackish water environments, and when occurring on freshwater environments, are restricted mainly to estuaries, or, occasionally, the lower portions of the rivers. Thus, we will not address them in our biogeographical comments. From the remaining 28 species, eight did not occur in the Amazon River basin, six of them being endemic to the Maranhão-Piauí ecoregion. The remaining species herein reported also have their distribution recorded for the Amazon River basin, which shows the great influence of the Amazon basin. In the last two decades efforts to inventory the freshwater fish fauna and to taxonomically solve some groups occurring on the Maranhão state have been made. However the knowledge regarding the composition of the Maranhão freshwater fishes is still insufficient and underestimated, with several groups still lacking adequate taxonomic and systematic resolution, and with many gaps of knowledge, something that is not appropriate for our current picture of "biodiversity crisis". As well as, the other Brazilian protected areas, the PNLM fails to preserve its freshwater environment properly, since it includes only fragments of the major river systems of the area, not including and conserving the hole river drainages, mainly excluding their headwaters. Thus, its water bodies are exposed to typical human impacts.

Composition, diversity and biogeographic affinities of the deep-sea (200–3000 m) fish assemblage in the Great Australian Bight, Australia

The deepest systematic collection of benthic fishes in Australian waters (108 species from 48 families in 200–3000 m depths) was taken by beam trawl during two surveys in the central Great Australian Bight (GAB) in 2015. All samples were on sediment habitats, but some were in close proximity to volcanic seamounts and outcropping rocky seabed in submarine canyons. The great majority of species were previously recorded from Australian waters (90%), and the GAB (75%). A markedly lower proportion of recorded species occurred at greater depths (1700–3000 m) where there had been virtually no previous sampling: 74% in Australian waters, and 30% in GAB waters. The fauna is dominated by families that typify many areas of the global deep sea: rattails (Macrouridae), cut-throat eels (Synaphobranchidae), morid cods (Moridae), oreo dories (Oreosomatidae), slickheads (Alepocephalidae), cusk-eels (Ophidiidae) and halosaurs (Halosauridae). The Macrouridae was most diverse, occurred most frequently, was most abundant (density) in 400 m and all deeper strata, and top ranked by biomass and density in standardised data. The predominant patterns of biogeographical affinities were strongly influenced by depth. Endemic species were most prevalent in shelf break and upper to mid-slope depths (both 52%), and declined with increasing depth (upper to mid-slope species 25%; lower slope/rise 4%), consistent with a general pattern in the Australian ichthyofauna. Fish biomass (gm−2) was significantly related to depth, being relatively very low (~0.5 gm−2) at 200 m depth, highest at 400 m (~3.4 gm−2), then steadily declining with increasing depth to about 0.4 gm−2 at 3000 m depth. Depth was the main factor explaining assemblage structure. There was no clear distinction of assemblages at sites close to structured habitats, and no longitudinal pattern across a gradient of productivity (higher in the east due to summertime upwelling). The GAB is presently being considered for oil and gas exploration in areas extending from the shelf break (200 m) to beyond 4000 m depths. The current data set has the potential to inform biodiversity management in the GAB, including the design of an ecological monitoring program prior to oil and gas exploration, because it includes samples from within and immediately adjacent to the Great Australian Bight Australian Marine Park (GAB AMP) and six active lease blocks. The data set outlined provides a quality assured inventory of fishes, mapping species distributions and associations with habitats in the area of interest, and identifies potential sites of impact and suitable control sites inside and outside marine parks.