Dispersal and Kinship Patterns of a Pelagic-Spawning Riverine Fish Highlight the Value of Connectivity Over Large Spatial Scales

Michie, L; Harrisson, K; Rourke, M; Crook, D; Stuart, I; Ellis, I; Sharpe, C; Butler, G; Thiem, J

Dispersal and Kinship Patterns of a Pelagic-Spawning Riverine Fish Highlight the Value of Connectivity Over Large Spatial Scales

Michie, L

Harrisson, K Rourke, M Crook, D Stuart, I Ellis, I Sharpe, C Butler, G Thiem, J

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Publisher:: WILEY
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Ecohydrology, 2025, 18, (3)
Issue Date:: 2025-04-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Michie, L https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1480-5585
dc.contributor.author	Harrisson, K
dc.contributor.author	Rourke, M
dc.contributor.author	Crook, D
dc.contributor.author	Stuart, I
dc.contributor.author	Ellis, I
dc.contributor.author	Sharpe, C
dc.contributor.author	Butler, G
dc.contributor.author	Thiem, J
dc.date.accessioned	2025-07-25T02:21:16Z
dc.date.available	2025-07-25T02:21:16Z
dc.date.issued	2025-04-01
dc.identifier.citation	Ecohydrology, 2025, 18, (3)
dc.identifier.issn	1936-0584
dc.identifier.issn	1936-0592
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/188819
dc.description.abstract	Managing fish populations in regulated rivers requires an understanding of the spatial and temporal scale of their dispersal, the locations of key spawning and nursery habitats and the hydraulic processes that interplay with their life history. Golden perch (Macquaria ambigua), an Australian freshwater pelagic-spawning fish, highlights the worldwide challenges of managing riverine species that rely on hydraulic conditions to sustain critical metapopulation processes. This study aimed to quantify the spatial scale of early life history golden perch dispersal after a drought-breaking in-channel flow event in early 2020 in a regulated lowland river. Otolith microchemistry (<sup>87</sup>Sr/<sup>86</sup>Sr) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) determined natal origins and sibling relationships, respectively, of young-of-year (YOY) caught in a floodplain nursery with larval fish captured upstream. For fish collected in the floodplain nursery, dispersal distances ranged to ~1600 km. Otolith microchemistry attributed 52% of YOY as localised in origin, 44% as originating in the midcatchment and 4% from the most upstream sample locations. Genetic analyses identified a full-sibling pair captured 900 km apart and 31 half-sibling pairs that linked YOY to larval fish captured at a diversity of upstream sites. Our study highlights the range of spatial scales over which ELH dispersal can occur for golden perch and emphasises the importance of interconnected flowing river habitats in sustaining metapopulation processes. We illustrate the positive results that increased riverine connectivity can yield for fish with similar life history strategies.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	WILEY
dc.relation.ispartof	Ecohydrology
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1002/eco.70032
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject	05 Environmental Sciences, 06 Biological Sciences, 07 Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences
dc.subject.classification	30 Agricultural, veterinary and food sciences
dc.subject.classification	31 Biological sciences
dc.subject.classification	41 Environmental sciences
dc.title	Dispersal and Kinship Patterns of a Pelagic-Spawning Riverine Fish Highlight the Value of Connectivity Over Large Spatial Scales
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	18
utslib.for	05 Environmental Sciences
utslib.for	06 Biological Sciences
utslib.for	07 Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Life Sciences
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.rights.license	This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.date.updated	2025-07-25T02:21:12Z
pubs.issue	3
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	18
utslib.citation.issue	3

Abstract:

Managing fish populations in regulated rivers requires an understanding of the spatial and temporal scale of their dispersal, the locations of key spawning and nursery habitats and the hydraulic processes that interplay with their life history. Golden perch (Macquaria ambigua), an Australian freshwater pelagic-spawning fish, highlights the worldwide challenges of managing riverine species that rely on hydraulic conditions to sustain critical metapopulation processes. This study aimed to quantify the spatial scale of early life history golden perch dispersal after a drought-breaking in-channel flow event in early 2020 in a regulated lowland river. Otolith microchemistry (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) determined natal origins and sibling relationships, respectively, of young-of-year (YOY) caught in a floodplain nursery with larval fish captured upstream. For fish collected in the floodplain nursery, dispersal distances ranged to ~1600 km. Otolith microchemistry attributed 52% of YOY as localised in origin, 44% as originating in the midcatchment and 4% from the most upstream sample locations. Genetic analyses identified a full-sibling pair captured 900 km apart and 31 half-sibling pairs that linked YOY to larval fish captured at a diversity of upstream sites. Our study highlights the range of spatial scales over which ELH dispersal can occur for golden perch and emphasises the importance of interconnected flowing river habitats in sustaining metapopulation processes. We illustrate the positive results that increased riverine connectivity can yield for fish with similar life history strategies.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/188819