The present work describes a comparison of the ability of multiple linear regression (MLR) and artificial neural networks (ANN) to predict fish spatial occupancy and abundance in a mesotrophic reservoir. Models were run and tested with 306 observations obtained by the sampling point abundance method using electrofishing. For each of the 306 samples, the relationships between physical parameters...

Understanding how and why coral reefs have changed over the last twenty to thirty years is crucial for sustaining coral-reef resilience. We used a historical baseline from Kosrae, a typical small island in Micronesia, to examine changes in fish and coral assemblages since 1986. We found that natural gradients in the spatial distribution of fish and coral assemblages have become amplified, as is...

Although modern beaked whales (Ziphiidae) are known to be highly specialized toothed whales that predominantly feed at great depths upon benthic and benthopelagic prey, only limited palaeontological data document this major ecological shift. We report on a ziphiid-fish assemblage from the Late Miocene of Peru that we interpret as the first direct evidence of a predator-prey relationship between...

Artificial reefs are a popular fisheriesmanagement tool, but the effect of these reefs on the abundance of fish in the surrounding pelagic environment is uncertain. Pelagic baited remote underwater video (PBRUV) was used to observe the fish assemblage surrounding an offshore artificial reef (OAR), near Sydney,Australia. PBRUVswere deployed at three distances (30, 100, 500m) from the OAR, and co...

The implications of shallow water impacts such as fishing and climate change on fish assemblages are generally considered in isolation from the distribution and abundance of these fish assemblages in adjacent deeper waters. We investigate the abundance and length of demersal fish assemblages across a section of tropical continental shelf at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia, to identify fish and...

We report a reef ecosystem where corals may have lost their role as major reef engineering species but fish biomass and assemblage structure is comparable to unfished reefs elsewhere around the world. This scenario is based on an extensive assessment of the coral reefs of Farquhar Atoll, the most southern of the Seychelles Islands. Coral cover and overall benthic community condition at Farquhar...

Fish screens can help prevent the entrainment or injury of fish at irrigation diversions, but only when designed appropriately. Design criteria cannot simply be transferred between sites or pump systems and need to be developed using an evidence-based approach with the needs of local species in mind. Laboratory testing is typically used to quantify fish responses at intake screens, but often li...