The influence of fishes on temperate rocky reef ecosystems is globally recognised, particularly where large predators may structure ecosystems through predation. In South-East Australia, the common Wrasse Achoerodus viridis (Blue Groper) and Sparid Chrysophrys auratus (Snapper) are sympatric rocky reef predators. While their diets are thought to be well understood, this is generally based on gut contents undertaken over limite...

Urchin diets are a topic of global interest due to their impacts on subtidal reefs. Urchins can consume large amounts of macroalgae, leading to the loss of macroalgal forests and creation of “barrens”. However, there is scant dietary information in the southern hemisphere for the temperate sea urchin, Centrostephanus rodgersii , and what they consume within barrens, which lack macroalgae. Here, we sampled C. rodgersii to quant...

Recreational fishing is an important social and economic activity on a global scale. In Australia, the quantification of the recreational fishing catch has relied on voluntary surveys, which require significant human resourcing for data collection and also limit the sampling and the precision of the estimates. Artificial intelligence (AI) incorporated into fish cleaning tables offers the opportunity to collect data in an almos...

The ecological impacts of extreme floods to benthic ecosystems in oceanic environments remain unclear, as events are difficult to observe and quantify. Between 2020 and 2022, an unusually long La Niña resulted in substantial flooding across southeastern Australia. Major floods in the Hawkesbury‐Nepean River led to an unprecedented flood plume extending ~70 km offshore to depths of ~50 m, exposing coastal biodiversity to rare e...

Globally, key predators such as lobsters are thought to control urchins. In south-eastern Australia, the role of Sagmariasus verreauxi (eastern rock lobster) as a key predator of the native urchin Centrostephanus rodgersii (long-spined urchin) has been questioned while the sympatric Heliocidaris erythrogramma (short-spined urchin) may be eaten more frequently. To test this, we tethered and filmed 100 urchins (50 C . rodgersii...

Estuarine and adjacent inshore habitats have long been recognised as important nursery areas for fishes before they disperse to coastal habitats. Assessing nursery function supports spatial and fisheries management, yet work commonly focusses on singular habitat types. Re-considering how juvenile fish connect habitats may improve our understanding of nursery function and the scales that recruits are supplied to coastal fisheri...

Recreational fishing waste, produced from processing catches at shore‐based fish cleaning facilities and discarded into adjacent waters, is foraged by various aquatic species. However, the potential alterations to the diet of consumers of these resources are poorly studied. Smooth stingrays ( Bathytoshia brevicaudata ) are a large demersal mesopredatory ray species and common scavenger of recreational fishing discards around s...

Marine fisheries in coastal ecosystems in many areas of the world have historically removed large‐bodied individuals, potentially impairing ecosystem functioning and the long‐term sustainability of fish populations. Reporting on size‐based indicators that link to food‐web structure can contribute to ecosystem‐based management, but the application of these indicators over large (cross‐ecosystem) geographical scales has been lim...

The residency and movements of a single acoustically tagged female crested horn shark ( Heterodontus galeatus ) were monitored in Jervis Bay, Australia. The individual was intermittently detected by receivers throughout the 8‐year study period and showed preference for particular rocky reefs in terms of its residency indices and duration of residency events. This individual exhibited lower residency and dissimilar movement pat...

Examining the movement ecology of mesopredators is fundamental to developing an understanding of their biology, ecology and behaviour, as well as the communities and ecosystems they influence. The limited research on the residency and movements of benthic marine mesopredators has primarily used visual tags, which do not allow for the efficient and accurate monitoring of individual space use. In this study, the authors investig...

Delineation of population structure (i.e. stocks) is crucial to successfully manage exploited species and to address conservation concerns for threatened species. Fish migration and associated movements are key mechanisms through which discrete populations mix and are thus important determinants of population structure. Detailed information on fish migration and movements is becoming more accessible through advances in telemet...

Marine reserves are a key tool for the conservation of marine biodiversity, yet only ~2.5% of the world's oceans are protected. The integration of marine reserves into connected networks representing all habitats has been encouraged by international agreements, yet the benefits of this design has not been tested empirically. Australia has one of the largest systems of marine reserves, providing a rare opportunity to assess how...

The advent of new technologies and statistical analyses has provided valuable insights into chondrichthyan social behavior. It has become apparent that sharks and rays lead more complex social lives than previously believed. Heterarchy combines hierarchy and social network theory and although it is not a new concept, it is rarely applied to animal social interactions. Here, we applied heterarchy to a case study involving smoot...