Characteristics of fish communities in coastal waters of north-western Australia, including the biology of the threadfin species Eleutheronema tetradactylum and Polydactylus macrochir

.................................................................................................................................................................. i Acknowledgments.................................................................................................................................................vi Table of contents..................................................................................................................................................vii 1. General Introduction......................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Fish faunas of nearshore tropical waters...................................................................................................... 1 1.2. The north-western Australian coast and its fish fauna ................................................................................. 3 1.3. The Polynemidae ......................................................................................................................................... 7 1.3.1. Distribution, morphological characteristics and taxonomy.................................................................. 7 1.3.2. Australian species of threadfin............................................................................................................. 9 1.3.3. Threadfin fisheries ............................................................................................................................. 13 1.4. Hermaphroditism in teleosts ...................................................................................................................... 15 1.5. Management of hermaphroditic fishes....................................................................................................... 20 1.6. Main objectives of the study ...................................................................................................................... 23 2. General Materials and Methods..................................................................................................................... 25 2.1. Sampling of fish communities of the north-western Australian coast ....................................................... 25 2.1.1. Locations and habitats sampled ......................................................................................................... 25 2.1.2. Sampling regimes............................................................................................................................... 29 2.1.3. Fish collection and processing ........................................................................................................... 33 2.2. Environmental parameters ......................................................................................................................... 33 3. Fish faunas of nearshore, shallow waters and intertidal pools .................................................................... 36 3.