Article

First assessment of estuarine space use and home range of juvenile white steenbras, Lithognathus lithognathus

Published in: African Zoology
Volume 46 , issue 1 , 2011 , pages: 32–38

DOI: 10.1080/15627020.2011.11407476

Author(s): R. H. Bennett Department of Ichthyology and Fisheries Science, South Africa , A. R. Childs Department of Ichthyology and Fisheries Science, South Africa , P. D. Cowley South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, South Africa , T. F. Næsje Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Norway , E. B. Thorstad Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Norway , F. Økland Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Norway

Keywords: acoustic telemetry , estuarine fish , Great Fish Estuary , South Africa , Sparidae

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Abstract

The spatial dynamics and home range sizes of early juvenile white steenbras (Lithognathus lithognathus Cuvier, 1829) in the permanently open Great Fish Estuary, South Africa, were assessed using acoustic telemetry. Seven individuals (154–184 mm fork length) tagged with acoustic transmitters spent the majority of their time in the mesohaline to oligohaline regions of the estuary, between five and seven kilometres from the mouth. Mean home range size was small (97 399 ± 22 557 m², mean ± S.D.) relative to the size of the estuary (approx. 1 360 000m²). Mean length of the estuary used by an individual was 1707m(±S.D.=1663 m). The fish were highly resident within the estuary, and showed fidelity towards their site of capture.

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