Response of estuarine consumer communities following the stocking of a juvenile penaeid (Penaeus plebejus) over two consecutive years
2018
Becker, A. | Lowry, M. B. | Taylor, M. D.
Research programmes that monitor and evaluate the impact of stocking activities are essential to quantify effects of stocking and provide information for adaptive management of future releases. The consumer communities in two estuaries stocked with 5.8 million post‐larvae eastern king prawn Penaeus plebejus (Hess) were monitored, both before and after stocking, and relative to two similar reference estuaries. Following stocking, there was evidence of increases in the abundances of prawns within stocked estuaries. Communities in all four estuaries showed significant levels of variation over time as well as among the systems themselves. Changes in overall diversity were similarly observed. The presence or absence of vegetation and other seasonal effects were found to explain most of the observed variation in the community assemblage, while prawn stocking appeared to have a little detectable influence. While this study points to minimal impacts of prawn stocking on the consumer community at the densities used, research into potential shifts in resource use by competitors and the growth and survival of prawns is required to fully understand post‐release changes in stocked systems.
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