Zoology - Theses

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End date: 2009 × Start date: 2000 × Subject: Australasian gannets × Subject: Port Phillip Bay ×

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    Population dynamics of Australasian gannets (Morus serrator) breeding in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria; competition with fisheries and the potential use of seabirds in managing marine resources
    BUNCE, ASHLEY ( 2000)
    Increasing exploitation of pelagic fish populations worldwide has often resulted in overfishing and the collapse of commercial fisheries and associated serious declines in many marine predator populations, including seabirds. These events highlight the competing demands for limited marine resources. Recent emphasis for the ecologically sustainable management of commercial fisheries has stimulated attempts to manage fisheries by incorporating knowledge of trophic interactions and ecosystem functioning, known as ecosystem-based fisheries management. Seabirds are often highly visible, wide-ranging upper trophic level consumers that aggregate in areas of increased ocean productivity and therefore be used as natural monitors of marine environmental conditions. Further, many seabirds commonly fed on commercially-exploited fish stocks (often targeting prey of similar size). In this study, the population dynamics of Australasian gannets (Morus serrator) breeding in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, is investigated and competition between gannets and commercial fisheries is determined. In addition, the potential use of seabird reproductive and population parameters as indicators of the abundance of commercially exploited fish stocks, and pelagic conditions generally, is assessed.