Standard Presentation Australian Marine Sciences Association Annual Meeting 2023

Effects of eco-engineering interventions on subtidal fish and fouling communities Sydney Harbour (#161)

Mariana Mayer Pinto 1 , Aria Lee 2 , Melanie Bishop 3 , Katherine Dafforn 3
  1. University of New Souht Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  2. Sydney Institute of Marine Science, Sydney
  3. Macquarie University, Sydney

Eco-engineering is increasingly being used to reduce the ecological footprint of marine built infrastructure. However, most interventions to date have been done at the intertidal level. Here, we examine the effects of a large-scale intervention on fish and fouling assemblages at the intertidal (0.5 depth) and subtidal (3 m deep). Habitat enhancing panels were installed on the northern and southern end of the embayment at Watermans Cove, Sydney Harbour, Australia. Five different panel designs – that mimic natural features of the local natural environment, including Rockpool and Kelp, with ridges that resembles the holdfast of kelps – and one flat control were installed at the embayment.  Half of the ‘kelp panels’ were seeded with live kelp Ecklonia radiata. 128 panels were installed at each depth and side of the embayment and were randomly distributed. Remote underwater video cameras (RUVs) were used to record the fish activity, number and identity of fish interacting with panels at each depth at two times point (10 and 16 months after installation). Fouling assemblages were also sampled during the same period. I will present the results of both fish and fouling assemblages and discuss the importance of local conditions in the effectiveness of eco-engineering interventions.