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dc.contributor.authorO'Mara, K
dc.contributor.authorMiskiewicz, A
dc.contributor.authorWong, MYL
dc.date.accessioned2019-11-01T01:06:37Z
dc.date.available2019-11-01T01:06:37Z
dc.date.issued2017
dc.identifier.issn1323-1650
dc.identifier.doi10.1071/mf15409
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10072/388830
dc.description.abstractEstuaries are critical aquatic environments that are used by many fish during their life cycle. However, estuaries often suffer from poor water quality as a result of anthropogenic activities. Fish diversity studies in estuaries are common, although few have examined whether correlations exist between water quality, metal contamination and fish assemblages. In the present study we investigated the effect of abiotic conditions, heavy metals and estuary characteristics on the abundance, diversity and composition of fish in four intermittently open estuaries along the Illawarra coast of south-eastern Australia. The heterogeneity of environmental conditions was reflected in the fish assemblages in each estuary. Environmental variables predicted fish species composition, and estuaries in particularly poor condition contained few species (estuarine residents) in high abundance, indicating their ability to acclimatise and survive in conditions that are hostile to other species. Overall, these findings demonstrate that estuarine fish assemblages may be useful indicators of estuary condition and reveal the importance of managing anthropogenic activities in the surrounding catchment to improve water quality so that biodiversity of fish can be restored in these estuarine environments.
dc.description.peerreviewedYes
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherCSIRO Publishing
dc.publisher.placeAustralia
dc.relation.ispartofpagefrom941
dc.relation.ispartofpageto953
dc.relation.ispartofissue5
dc.relation.ispartofjournalMarine and Freshwater Research
dc.relation.ispartofvolume68
dc.subject.fieldofresearchFreshwater ecology
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode310304
dc.titleEstuarine characteristics, water quality and heavy metal contamination as determinants of fish species composition in intermittently open estuaries
dc.typeJournal article
dc.type.descriptionC1 - Articles
dcterms.bibliographicCitationO'Mara, K; Miskiewicz, A; Wong, MYL, Estuarine characteristics, water quality and heavy metal contamination as determinants of fish species composition in intermittently open estuaries, Marine and Freshwater Research, 2017, 68 (5), pp. 941-953
dc.date.updated2019-10-29T05:15:39Z
gro.hasfulltextNo Full Text
gro.griffith.authorO'Mara, Kaitlyn M.


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