Scaling of Activity Space in Marine Organisms across Latitudinal Gradients.

AbstractUnifying models have shown that the amount of space used by animals (e.g., activity space, home range) scales allometrically with body mass for terrestrial taxa; however, such relationships are far less clear for marine species.

Applying acoustic telemetry to understand contaminant exposure and bioaccumulation patterns in mobile fishes.

Contamination in urbanised estuaries presents a risk to human health, and to the viability of populations of exploited species. Assessing animal movements in relation to contaminated areas may help to explain patterns in bioaccumulation, and assist in the effective management of health risks associated with consumption of exploited species. Using polychlorinated dibenzodioxin and polychlorinated dibenzofuran (PCDD/Fs) contamination in Sydney Harbour estuary as a case study, we present a study that links movement patterns resolved using acoustic telemetry to the accumulation of contaminants in mobile fish on a multi-species basis.

Thermal limitation of performance and biogeography in a free-ranging ectotherm: insights from accelerometry.

Theoretical and laboratory studies generally show that ectotherm performance increases with temperature to an optimum, and subsequently declines. Several physiological mechanisms probably shape thermal performance curves, but responses of free-ranging animals to temperature variation will represent a compromise between these mechanisms and ecological constraints. Thermal performance data from wild animals balancing physiology and ecology are rare, and this represents a hindrance for predicting population impacts of future temperature change.

Shock, stress or signal? Implications of freshwater flows for a top-level estuarine predator.

Physicochemical variability in estuarine systems plays an important role in estuarine processes and in the lifecycles of estuarine organisms. In particular, seasonality of freshwater inflow to estuaries may be important in various aspects of fish lifecycles. This study aimed to further understand these relationships by studying the movements of a top-level estuarine predator in response to physicochemical variability in a large, temperate south-east Australian estuary (Shoalhaven River).

Interactive drivers of activity in a free-ranging estuarine predator.

Animal activity patterns evolve as an optimal balance between energy use, energy acquisition, and predation risk, so understanding how animals partition activity relative to extrinsic environmental fluctuations is central to understanding their ecology, biology and physiology. Here we use accelerometry to examine the degree to which activity patterns of an estuarine teleost predator are driven by a series of rhythmic and arrhythmic environmental fluctuations. We implanted free-ranging bream Acanthopagrus australis with acoustic transmitters that measured bi-axial acceleration and pressure (depth), and simultaneously monitored a series of environmental variables (photosynthetically active radiation, tidal height, temperature, turbidity, and lunar phase) for a period of approximately four months.

Rain reverses diel activity rhythms in an estuarine teleost.

Activity rhythms are ubiquitous in nature, and generally synchronized with the day-night cycle. Several taxa have been shown to switch between nocturnal and diurnal activity in response to environmental variability, and these relatively uncommon switches provide a basis for greater understanding of the mechanisms and adaptive significance of circadian (approx. 24 h) rhythms.