From little things big things grow: enhancement of an acoustic telemetry network to monitor broad-scale movements of marine species along Australia's east coast.

Background: Acoustic telemetry has become a fundamental tool to monitor the movement of aquatic species. Advances in technology, in particular the development of batteries with lives of > 10 years, have increased our ability to track the long-term movement patterns of many species. However, logistics and financial constraints often dictate the locations and deployment duration of acoustic receivers.

Human modifications to estuaries correlate with the morphology and functional roles of coastal fish.

Animals can respond to human impacts by favouring different morphological traits or by exploiting different food resources. We quantified the morphology and diet of four functionally different fish species (n = 543 fish) from 13 estuaries with varying degrees of human modification in Queensland, Australia. We found differences in the responses of trophic groups to the environmental conditions of estuaries; principally the extent of seagrass in the estuary, and the amount of shoreline and catchment urbanisation.