Data Analysis

Accurate survey data with background research produces:

species lists and inventories.
species accumulation curves.
species suites and their environments.
changes in species suites over time.
new species.
extensions of range.
biological information.
species abundance.

The production of this information requires:

data analysis.
the accurate identification of fish.
standard sampling methods.
repeated sampling.

These are lists of species found at a site, and therefore extending to locations and regions.

Lists of species that might possibly be found at site, location, or region can be be compiled from previous and current records. By restricting the number of possible species at a site the identification of these species becomes much easier. To further aid identification of species at each location they will be listed by abundance. During the preparation of species lists for a site sometimes special targeted sampling may be used to find species normally not found during standard survey methods.

Species accumulation curves

Species accumulation curves are graphs show the total number of fish sampled from all samplings on the bottom axis (X axis) and the total number of different species from all samplings on the side axis (Y axis). As the number of samplings increases the number of species increases. The rate of increase slows as most of the species possible to sample are recorded and sooner or later new species are rarely or never found. The shape of the curve and the number of samples can be used to predict the probable number of species at a site.

Species suites and their environments.

A 'species suite' is a group of species that typically occur together in a defined habitat. Species suites are normally associated with a habitat with a particular physical and vegetative structure such as reefs, seagrass, or sand flats.

Changes in species suites over time.

Environmental changes or changes in recruitment can alter the type of species and therefore species suites. Ongoing monitoring of sites is often the best way to tell if there have been alterations to the environment from influences such as climate variability. The invasion of exotic species may also cause reduce inshore fish populations or even cause the local extinction of fish species. The times of the invasion of exotic species, and their effect in the environment, can be shown by the ongoing monitoring of sites.

New species.

It is difficult to preserve biodiversity if the types of species in an area are not known. Both targeted and ongoing surveys will expose new species. When we detect possible new species we will describe them, with information on their biology, to assist their conservation.

Extensions of range.

There are very few records of many fish species across southern Australia. Our surveys and information base will enable the production of maps showing the current range of species. Will also propose sites where these species could be found to encourage targeted searches.

Species Abundance

Species abundance is very difficult to ascertain as standard survey methods will preferentially select species