DISTRIBUTION OF THE SPOTTED MINNOW (GALAXIAS MACULATUS (JENYNS, 1842)) (TELEOSTEI GALAXIIDAE) IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA INCLUDING RANGE EXTENSIONS AND SYMPATRIC SPECIES

2006·2.2 MB·English

by  David L Morgan

Recordsofthe WesternAustralianMuseum23: 7-11 (2006).
Distribution of the spotted minnow {Galaxias maculatus (Jenyns, 1842))
(Teleostei: Galaxiidae) in Western Australia including range extensions
and sympatric species
DavidL.Morgan,AndrewChapman,StephenJ.BeattyandHowardS. Gill
CentreforFishandFisheriesResearch,MurdochUniversity,SouthStreet,Murdoch,WesternAustralia6150
Abstract-Galaxiasmaculatuswascapturedfrom anumberofriversoutside
its previously known range. In Western Australia, it was formerly only
known from rivers and lakesbetweenthe Goodga River (Two People's Bay,
30 km eastofAlbany) and the Dailey River (50 km east of Esperance), with
additional records from the Boat Harbour Lakes (Kent River). An intensive
survey of the inland fishes in rivers and lakes along the south coast of
WesternAustraliahasextendeditsdistributioneastby50km(ThomasRiver),
westbyapproximately40km (WalpoleRiver)and northby400km (Harvey
River). The Western Australian Museum also has a specimen from the
Canning River, a further 100 km north. Field salinity tolerance of G.
maculatus was high, with fish found alive in 81 mSem' (-45 ppt). The
freshwater piscifauna cast of, and including, the Pallinup River is
depauperate,with G.maculatusbeingtheonlyfreshwaterspeciespresent.All
sympatric teleosts are tolerant of salinity and, with the exception of the
introducedGambusiaholbrooki,areestuarine,includingPseudogobiusolorum,
Leptatherina wallaceiandAcanthopagrusbutcheri.
INTRODUCTION MATERIALSANDMETHODS
The Spotted Minnow, Common Galaxias or This study focused on sampling the fish fauna in
Common Jollytail (Galaxias maculatus (Jenyns, the rivers and lakes east of, and including, the
1842)) is a small, elongate, partially translucent, Pallinup River on the south coast of Western
scaleless, osmeriform fish (Figure 1). It is one of Australia, excluding estuaries. Fish were sampled
the most widely distributed freshwater fishes in primarily using a combination of fine mesh seine
the world (Berra et al. 1996; Waters et al. 2000), nets in 148 sites between the Pallinup River and
with populations occurring in Australia, Lord Poison Creek (east of theThomas River, see Figure
Howe Island, New Zealand, Chatham Islands, 2). Datapresented in Morgan etal. (1998)wereused
Falkland Islands and South America. Both land- for the distribution of G. maculatus to the west of
locked (i.e. complete their life-cycle in inland the Pallinup River, while the unpublished reports
waters) and catadromous (with a marine larval by Morgan and Beatty (2003a, b) were utilised for
phase) populations are recognised, and this theoccurrencesof G.maculatusin theWalpoleand
widespread distribution has been attributed to the Harveyrivers,respectively.
presence of catadromous populations throughout Species distribution maps were created using site
its range in eastern Australia, New Zealand and latitudeandlongitudedataintheprogramMapinfo
South America, with the larvae moving into the (MapInfoCorporation 1998).
sea after hatching (Benzie 1968; Pollard 1971; Dissolved oxygen, temperature and conductivity
McDowall et al. 1975). The presence of G. were measured in situ with a WTW Multiline P4
maculatus in Western Australia was first reported meter.Unlessotherwisestated,measurementswere
by Coy (1979) and McDowall and Frankenberg madeimmediatelybelowthewatersurface.
(1981), where the distribution was thought to
extend from the Goodga River in the west to the
streams around Esperance (see Figure 2). jaensch RESULTS
(1992) laterreported a single specimen to thewest
of the Goodga River in the Boat Harbour Lakes Distributionof GalaxiasmaculatusinWestern
(KentRiver) (Jaensch 1992) (Figure2). Australia
This paper presents new data on the distribution During this study G. maculatus was captured
of G. maculatus within W'estern Australia and from the following rivers and lakes within its
extendstherangeofthespeciesinthisState. previously known range: Goodga and Angove
8 D.L. Morgan,A.Chapman,S.J. Beatty,H.S. Gill
Figure 1 Thespotted minnow{Gnlaxinsnmculntiis).
rivers (Morgan et al. 1998), Pallinup, Bremer, maciiIntKS approached the surface to respire
Gairdner, Fitzgerald, Hamersley, Phillips, Steere, aerially. In these instances the surface dissolved
Jerdacuttup, Oldfield, Munglinup, Torradup, oxygenconcentration wasalwaysmarginallyhigher
Young, Port and Dalyup rivers; Yallobup, Kateup, than that at 30 cm. Furthermore, dead fish were
Coramup and Bandy creeks; Moates, Gardner, recorded on several occasions when water
Angove, Wheatley, Mulletand Woody lakes(Figure temperatureswere>30°Cand salinity was<2ppt.
2). Additionally, G. maculatus was captured from:
Lake Boolenup and the Thomas River,
approximately 100 km east of Esperance; the DISCUSSION
Walpole River, approximately 140 km west of the During this study the range of G. maculatus was
Goodga River; and in a drainage canal of Bancell extended considerably, i.e. east to Lake Boolenup
Brook, a tributary of the Harvey River, and the Thomas River, approximately 100 km east
approximately 380 km west and north from the of Esperance; west to the Walpole River,
Goodga Riverbycoast(Figure2). approximately 140 km west of the Goodga River;
and, in a drainage canal of Bancell Brook, a
Sympatric species tributary of the Harvey River, approximately 580
The estuarine Swan River Goby {Psciidogobiiis km west and north from theGoodga Riverby coast
oloruni) was found in the majority of systems (see Figure 2). The data presented here highlights
between the Pallinup and Thomas rivers; the the absence of studies of the inland fish fauna on
Western Hardyhead {Lcptatheriiia waUacei) was thesouthcoastofWestern Australia.
found from the Pallinup River to Bandy Creek; There is a marked reduction in the number of
Black Bream {Acanihopagrits butchcri), was species of native freshwater fish from west to east
captured with G. maadatus in the Oldfield River along the south coast of Western Australia. Ten
and in Wheatley and Woody lakes; and the freshwater fi.sh species occur in the region with a
introduced eastern Mosquitofish {Gambusia moderate Mediterranean climate to the west of, but
holbrooki) was found only in the Pallinup River not including, the Pallinup River (Morgan ct al.
(Figure 3). 1998; Allen ct al. 2002), whereas only one
freshwater species (i.e., G. tiuKiilnliis) occurs in the
Environmental variables region with a dry Mediterranean climateeastof the
Galnxins maculntiis was captured in Pallinup River(thisstudy) (Figure2). Theranges of
conductivities ranging from 0.3 to 94.4 mSem’, and G. iiiaciilatiis and the estuarine P. oloniiii extend to
temperatures from 12 to 30°C, however, all fish the eastern most river on the south coast, i.e. the
found in conductivitesgreater than 88 mSem’ were Thomas River(Figures2and 3), while theestuarine
dead,yetinall salinities<81.6mSem' (~45 ppt)they L. -umllncei extends as far east as Bandy Creek. The
were alive. Field measurements and repeated species composition of the rivers east of, and
observations revealed that when dissolved oxygen including, the Pallinup River is a reflection of the
levels were less than 1.5 mgl’ at 30 cm depth, G. higher natural salinities of these lower rainfall
GalaxiasmaculatusinWesternAustralia 9
systemsthanforthoseriverstothewest.Thus,only or are simply marine stragglers. It is likely that the
species that are salt tolerant are found in the rivers establishmentofnew, self-maintaining populations
eastofthePallinup.Theferal G.holbrookiisableto is only achieved when adequate numbers migrate
toleratesalinitiesup to-60ppt (Morgan etal. 2004) into these systems and environmental tolerances,
but does not currently extend east of the Pallinup particularly salinity and possibly temperature, are
River however it is found in most of the river not exceeded. For example, while G. maculatus is
systems west of the Pallinup and north to the Hutt extremely tolerant to high salinity (acute LD^pOf45
River, approximately 450 km north of Perth (see ppt. Chessman and Williams (1975) and supported
Morgan etal. 1998, 2004). This species is known to by field observations in this study), water
seriouslyimpactothersmallsouth-western Western temperatures experienced on the west coast of
Australia fishes (Gill etal. 1999), yet it is not clear WesternAustralia(e.g.,HarveyandCanningrivers)
what impacts it has on the species in the Pallinup may often exceed 30°C during summer, a
River.Itisprobablyinevitablethatitwilleventually temperaturethat Richardson etal. (1994) suggest is
beintroduced intootherriverson thesouth coastof lethal toatleastsomeNewZealand populations.
WesternAustralia. Previousworkershavefaceduncertaintywhether
During the current study, the number of G. Western Australian G. maculatuswere land-locked
maculatus captured at those sites within its or diadromous, though on the basis of an inland
previously known rangewas far greater than those breedingrecord from thePallinupRiver, theformer
recorded to thewestofits previously known range wassuspected (Allen 1982). A recent detailedstudy
(i.e., Walpole and Harvey rivers). For example, on the biology of G. maculatus in south-western
despite extensive sampling, only four and one Australia that included populations in theGoodga,
individuals were captured in the Walpole and Phillips, Oldfield and Jerdacuttup rivers confirms
Harvey rivers, respectively (Morgan and Beatty that, overmostofits rangein Western Australia, G.
2003a, b). Therefore, these individuals, particularly maculatus has a self sustaining, land-locked
in the case of those in the Harvey River, are either breeding strategy (Chapman 2004). Further
indicativeofpopulationswithvery lowabundances evidence for this is the presence of fish in the
10 D.L.Morgan,A.Chapman,SJ.Beatty,H.S.Gill
Figure3 ThedistributionofthethreesympatricspeciescapturedwithinthemainrangeofGalnxiasmnculatus.
Jerdacuttup River, which has probably not had Although the presence of diadromous
contact with the sea for 6 000 years (Hodgkin and populations of G. maculatus in rivers on the south
Clark 1990). In otherrivers, occasional contact with coast was not demonstrated during the present
the sea by either adult or larval fish is a possibility study, its presence in the Walpole River, which
as raised beach bars can either be breached by enters the sea via a permanently open channel at
flooding, vigorous winter flow or human the mouth of the Nornalup Inlet (Hodgkin and
intervention (artificialexcavation). Clark 1988), suggests that that there is at least the
McDowall (1988) considered that diadromous potential fordiadromyinWesternAustralia.
galaxiids represented the primitive or ancestral Recent allozyme (Berra et al. 1996) and
stockand thatfreshwaterlimitedpopulationswere mitochondrial (Waters et al. 2000b) studies have
a morerecentlyderivedphenomenon. Waters etal. demonstrated theconsiderablepowersofdispersal,
(2000a) proposed that the loss of the primitive duetoa marinelarval stage in somepopulations, of
marine juvenile phase may be an important G. maculatus. For example Berra et al. (1996)
mechanism of galaxiid speciation. It is very likely considered that gene flow continues to occur
then that on the south coast of Western Australia between Australia, New Zealand and South
the land-locked strategy has developed from America, andwhilstWatersetal. (2000b)confirmed
diadromous stock in response to changes to local gene flow between Australia and New Zealand,
coastal geomorphology over recent geological they were less convinced that dispersal occurred
time, with most of the rivers of the region now across thePacific. It is likely that the presenceof G.
CbeuilnhgamonlIynleitn,teprrmeitvtieonutsllyyotpheen.PhFiolrliepsxamRpilvee,r rmeascuulltaotfuslarivnalthderiWftalvpiaoloeceaanndcuHrarrevnetsyfrrivoemrse,itishear
estuary, where G. maculatus is confirmed to outside Western Australia or from a south coast
2au0sn0d34)e5,r0gw0oayseaapreslramanagdno-elbnoutctlkyeisdonpoleiwnfetb-oehtittsheterosrdeyeasc(arsCihrbeaecdpemnataslnay mrrieovqerurei.rTedlhiekteocloylt.elsetcStwuiohcnihcohfdmaootfartehwemsoietuolhcydhpoontadhlresisoaelspdeiasrtmatihites
coastal salt lake (Hodgkin 1997). Most of the comparisonsofthegeneticstructureofpopulations
region's rivers are now open to the sea only after within Western Australia, and between Western
majorrainfall events. Australia, eastern Australia, New Zealand and
GalaxiasmaculatusinWesternAustralia 11
South American populations, i.e. is there regular Hodgkin, E.P. and Clark, R. (1990). EstuariesoftheShire
geneflowbetweensystems? ofRavensthorpe and the Fitzgerald River National
Park. Estuarine Studies Series No. 7. Environmental
ProtectionAuthority,Perth.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
jaensch, R.P. (1992). Fishes in Wetlands on the South
We would like to thank the Natural Heritage Coast of Western Australia. Unpublished Technical
Trust, Murdoch University, Department of Paper. Department of Conservation and Land
Fisheries, Water and Rivers Commission, Harvey ManagementWesternAustralia,Perth.
River Restoration Trust and Fishcare WA for Mapgiunifdoe.CoMrappoirnaftoioCnor(p19o9r8a)t.ioMna,piNnefwopYroorfke.ssional-user's
pPCarArokLvsiMdainfnodgrApfruConlvdaissdsitRnoegwseparervrdemssi.ttsThihtsoanspkraomjypeoclute.tioTnChNhaaantrkilsoontattleo McDHoBeweltamwl,ele,LnoRFn.rdMeo.snh.(w1a9t88e)r.aDnidaMdarroimnyeEinnvFiirsohnemse:nMtisg.rCartiooonms
Morganforhelpwithsampling. McDowall, R.M. and Frankenberg, R.S. (1981). The
galaxiid fishes of Australia (Pisces: Galaxiidae).
RecordsoftheAustralianMuseum33:443-605.
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