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Cadmium, chromium, copper, nickel, lead and zinc concentrations in the bivalve molluscMacoma balthicaand the polychaete annelidsHediste diversicolorandArenicola marinawere measured, during winter and summer, at sites throughout the Severn Estuary and Bristol Channel. The mean concentration of each metal inA. marinawas greater in the lower Severn Estuary than in the far less contaminated outer Bristol Channel and the concentration of a given metal,e.g.Cr, in a species occasionally peaked at a site, reflecting local metal contamination. The concentrations of each metal in each of these biomonitor species almost invariably differed significantly among sites and often seasons and there were sometimes interactions between site and season. This indicates that the various factors that determine the concentration of a metal in a species operate in a complex manner and that their individual effects can vary among sites and/or seasons. The rank order of each metal concentration in each species at a site within the estuary frequently did not match the sequence for the concentration of that metal measured in the sediment at that site at the same time. This lack of correspondence is likely to be due, at least in part, to one or both of the following: (1) variations in the bioavailability of certain metals among sites due to differences in such features as the metal-binding properties of the sediments; (2) the effects of the constant transport and redistribution of the sediments and thus also of their associated trace metals by the very strong tidal action that characterizes the Severn Estuary. This would mean that single time measurements do not accurately reflect the overall trace metal environment to which the biomonitor organism had been exposed in the weeks/months prior to sampling. Marked differences in the concentrations of certain metals,e.g.Cu and Zn, in co-occurring biomarker species could frequently be related to differences between the ability of these species to regulate certain metals. Non-metric multi-dimensional scaling ordination and associated tests emphasize that the relationships between the concentrations of the various metals differed markedly among species and between sites and seasons in individual species and elucidated which metals contributed most to those differences. If the proposed scheme for harnessing tidal power in the Severn Estuary proceeds, the data in this paper provide a baseline for assessing the impact of such major changes on the bioavailability of trace metals in this estuary. This information will also be invaluable for predicting the changes likely to occur in other estuaries that become subjected to major structural changes.

Sampling of commercial fisheries bycatch in south-western Australia has yielded a second and different form of hermaphrodite of the Port Jackson sharkHeterodontus portusjacksoni. Its total length (706 mm) and weight (2740 g) fall within the range of those of mature males, but below those of mature females. The left clasper was similar to that of normal mature males, whereas the right clasper was far smaller, had a poorly-developed rhipidion groove and lacked a spur. The body cavity possessed a testis on the left, an ovotestis on the right, and contained sperm ducts, oviducal glands and uteri on both sides. As with normal mature males, the testis and the testicular component of the ovotestis contained germ cells in various stages of spermatogenesis, including late stage spermatids. The ovarian component of the ovotestis contained 14 follicles that were larger (5–9 mm diameter) than those of normal females of similar size, which were immature, but far smaller than those of normal mature females. Six of those follicles were atretic. The widths of the left and right oviducal glands and uteri were far greater than those of normal females of similar size, but similar to those of normal mature females. Thus, although gonadal maturation had progressed further in the testis and the testicular component of the ovotestis than in the ovarian component of the ovotestis, the oviducal glands and the uteri of the hermaphrodite were of similar size to those of normal mature females and were far better developed than those of normal females of similar length, which are immature.

Heterodontus portusjacksoniwas obtained from the catches of commercial trawl, gillnet and longline fisheries operating in south-western Australian waters, in which this shark is an abundant bycatch species. Ninety per cent of theH. portusjacksonicaught by commercial trawling in a marine embayment were 400 mm. Although the differences between the size compositions in the catches obtained by trawling vs both gillnetting and longlining, which were similar, are partly attributable to gear selectivity, they also reflect a use by juvenileH. portusjacksoniof protected nearshore waters as nursery areas and a tendency for larger juveniles and adults to occupy reef/rock habitats in a range of water depths. The fact that all but one of the numerousH. portusjacksoni>800 mm were females is reflected in the ratio of females to males differing significantly from parity in the gillnet and longline samples. Yolked oocytes usually take one year to develop to ovulatory size. Ovulation occurs in late winter to early summer and hatching takes place a year later when the embryo is 180–220 mm. The claspers of males commence rapid growth at a total length of ~450 mm, coincident with the onset of clasper calcification and gonadal maturation. The rate of clasper growth relative to total length reached a maximum at ~570 mm and then declined precipitously as the claspers approached full calcification. Based on gonadal criteria, theL50at maturity for females (805 mm) was nearly 40% greater than that for males (593 mm). Values of the deviance information criterion and marked overlap in their 95% confidence intervals demonstrate that theL50of 581 mm derived for males using full clasper calcification as the index of maturity was equally valid as the aboveL50derived for males at maturity using gonadal criteria. The capture of substantial numbers of juveniles by trawling and of females

Salinities in some normally-closed estuaries in the central south coast of Western Australia are now frequently becoming highly elevated. This is due to: (1) high evaporation rates in water volumes that, by summer, are already low as a result of atypically dry winters; and (2) increased salt run-off following vegetation clearing in the catchments. A few black bream (Acanthopagrus butcheri) died in the basin and lower reaches of the main tributary of Culham inlet when salinities reached ∼ 77 and 67, respectively, and an estimated 1.3 million black bream died in the tributary during the next two months when salinities continued to increase. All black bream in the basin and the lower reaches of the tributary of another estuary were apparently killed when salinities reached ∼ 83–85. It is proposed that A. butcheri becomes stressed at salinities of 60 and typically die before they reach ∼ 85. In both estuaries, a rock bar in the tributary prevented black bream from moving to refugia in upstream areas where salinities were lower.

Benthic macroinvertebrates were sampled seasonally in the subtidal and upper and lower swash zones at two sites in each of six nearshore habitat types on the lower west coast of Australia. The habitat types, which differed mainly in the extent of their exposure to wave activity and whether sea grass and/or nearshore reefs were present, had been distinguished quantitatively using values for a suite of seven statistically-selected enduring environmental characteristics (Valesini et al., 2003). The core samples yielded 121 species representing eight phyla, among which the Polychaeta, Malacostraca and Bivalvia were the most speciose classes, contributing ∼38, 23 and 10%, respectively, to the total number of individuals. The total number of species and mean density of macroinvertebrates at the most protected habitat type (1), i.e. 70 and 209·2 individuals 0·1 m−2, respectively, were far greater than in any other habitat type. Habitat type influenced species composition to a greater extent than either zone or season. Furthermore, the extents of the differences among the species compositions of the six habitat types statistically matched the extents of the differences among the values for the suite of enduring environmental characteristics that distinguished each of those habitat types. Overall, the species composition at habitat type 1 was the most distinct, containing five abundant species of polychaetes that were adapted to deposit-feeding in calm waters with high levels of organic material and which were rare in all other habitat types. In contrast, the fauna at the most exposed habitat type was characterized by four crustacean species and a species of bivalve and polychaete, whose mobility and tough external surface facilitated their survival and feeding in turbulent waters. The zonal differences in faunal compositions among habitat types were greatest in the case of the subtidal zone. The faunal compositions differed among zones and seasons only at the most protected habitat type.

The dietary compositions of Atherinomorus ogilbyi (Atherinidae), Sillago schomburgkii (Sillaginidae), Lesueurina platycephala (Leptoscopidae) and Ammotretis elongatus (Pleuronectidae) in three nearshore habitats on the lower west coast of Australia, which varied in their exposure to wave energy and the extent to which they contain sea grass, have been determined. The dietary compositions of these four abundant teleosts differed, reflecting marked differences between the location in the water column, head and mouth morphology and feeding behaviour of these species. Atherinomorus ogilbyi, which has a relatively high and large mouth, fed mainly on planktonic invertebrates in the water column, while S. schomburgkii ingested predominantly benthic prey, such as polychaetes and bivalves, which it extracted from the sediment using its downward-protruding mouth. Lesueurina platycephala employed its large mouth, cryptic coloration and ambush feeding to target relatively large teleosts and invertebrates, while the small mouth and flattened body of Ammotretis elongatus facilitated the ingestion of small crustacean prey, e.g. cumaceans and amphipods, which live on the substrate surface. Atherinomorus ogilbyi consumed predominantly calanoid copepods, cladocerans and insects during the day and mainly amphipods at night, when the latter taxon became abundant in the water column. The dietary composition of each species underwent a similar pattern of size-related change, being most pronounced in L. platycephala during the day. The diets of A. ogilbyi and S. schomburgkii, the two species for which the data were most comprehensive, differed among habitats and seasons, reflecting differences in the densities of their main prey. Comparisons between the day-time diets of the above four species with those recorded previously for a further four abundant species in the same habitats during the day, show that food resources are well distributed among the main fish species in nearshore waters along the lower west coast of Australia. This feature, together with the size-related changes in the diets of the different species, reduces the potential for inter- and intraspecific competition for food by fish species in this environment.

The reproductive biology of the tarwhine Rhabdosargus sarba has been studied in three very different environments in Western Australia, namely the lower reaches of the Swan River Estuary and marine waters at the same latitude, i.e. ≈32°S, and a large subtropical marine embayment (Shark Bay) approximately 800 km further north. A macroscopic and histological examination of the gonads demonstrated that R. sarba is typically a rudimentary hermaphrodite in Western Australian waters, i.e. the juveniles develop into either a male or female in which the ovarian and testicular zones of the gonads, respectively, are macroscopically undetectable. This contrasts with the situation in the waters off Hong Kong and South Africa where R. sarba is reported to be a protandrous hermaphrodite. Although R. sarba spawns between mid-late winter and late spring in each water body, the onset of spawning in the estuary is delayed until salinities have risen well above their winter minima. Although males and females attain sexual maturity at very similar lengths in the Swan River Estuary and Shark Bay, i.e. each L50 for first maturity lies between 170 and 177 mm total length (TL), they typically reach maturity at an earlier age in the former environment, i.e. 2 vs 3 years old. During the spawning period, only 25 and 12% of the males and females, respectively, that were caught between 180 and 260 mm TL in nearshore marine waters were mature, whereas 94 and 92% of the males and females, respectively, that were collected in this length-range over reefs, were mature. This indicates that R. sarba tends to move offshore when it has become ‘physiologically’ ready to mature. The L50s at first maturity indicate that the minimum legal length in Western Australia (230 mm TL) is appropriate for managing this species.

Portunus pelagicus (Crustacea: Portunidae) was collected monthly for a minimum of two years from two marine embayments (Cockburn Sound and Koombana Bay) and two estuaries (Peel-Harvey and Leschenault) that are located between 32° and 33°S on the lower west coast of Australia. A birth date of 1 December, derived from estimates of the peak time of spawning, was used to determine the average age of crabs in the main size cohort(s) in carapace width–frequency histograms for each month in each water body. The resultant carapace width-at-age data for each sex in Cockburn Sound and the Peel-Harvey Estuary, in which recruitment occurs at an early age, were then described using a seasonal von Bertalanffy growth curve. The results demonstrated that the growth rates of P. pelagicus differed significantly neither between females and males nor between crabs in the two water bodies and that growth was highly seasonal, with little or no increase in size occurring during the cold winter and early spring months. They also showed that relatively few P. pelagicus live beyond 18 months and indicate that, as a result of legal restrictions against retaining ovigerous crabs and the poor quality of recently-moulted females, fishing mortality is far lower amongst female than male crabs. The fact that the carapace widths attained by P. pelagicus at the end of its first year of life in Cockburn Sound (105 mm) and the Peel-Harvey Estuary (109 mm) were very similar to those in the Leschenault Estuary (105 mm) and Koombana Bay (107 mm) into which that estuary discharges emphasizes that the growth of P. pelagicus in each of these systems was similar. Data are also presented which strongly indicate that the second moult undergone by mature females is accompanied by an increase in the relative size of the abdominal flap.

The scorpaenid Maxillicosta scabriceps (Teleostei) and the platycephalid Platycephalus longispinis (Teleostei) were trawled seasonally for a year from shallow (5-15 m) and deeper (20-35 m) waters in four distantly-located regions of the inner continental shelf of south-western Australia. The former species was more abundant in southern regions, which is consistent with its temperate distribution, while the latter species was more abundant in deep than shallow waters. Unlike M. scabriceps, P. longispinis with total lengths < 110 mm were rarely caught, indicating that this latter species only moves on to the sandy substrate of the inner shelf when it reaches a certain size. As M. scabriceps increased in size, the contributions of mysids, amphipods and oxyrhyncan crabs to the diet declined, while those of carid decapods and brachyrhyncan crabs increased. The invertebrate fauna ingested by the smallest length-class of P. longispinis, 110-139 mm, was similar to that of the same and largest length-class of M. scabriceps. However, unlike M. scabriceps, this length-class of P. longispinis consumed teleosts, despite having a relatively smaller mouth. The contribution of teleosts subsequently increased as P. longispinis increased in size, a feature reflected by the relatively low dietary breadth of large fish. The marked shift in the types of prey ingested by P. longispinis as it increased in size accounted for the fact that, in contrast to M. scabriceps, there was limited dietary overlap between the larger and smaller members of this platycephalid. The ability of P. longispinis to ingest other fish is presumably related to the fact that platycephalids lie just under the substrate surface and are thus concealed from their potential prey, and that they are able to emerge rapidly and pursue their prey. Unlike several other local demersal fish species, M. scabriceps and P. longispinis ingested only a small amount of sediment, implying that these ambush predators target their prey very precisely, a foraging mode that would be facilitated by the epibenthic and conspicuous nature of their prey. The absence of marked differences in the dietary compositions of these two species in different regions, water depths and seasons is consistent with a specific mode of foraging by these species.

Monthly samples of fish from the intake screens of power stations at Oldbury and Berkeley in the inner Severn Estuary and Hinkley Point in the inner Bristol Channel, were used to analyse the community structures of the ichthyofauna in these regions. Marine species that use the estuary as a nursery area (marine estuarine-opportunists) were very abundant in the shallow inshore waters at Oldbury. Diadromous species were more abundant in the offshore and deeper waters at Berkeley than at Oldbury. Only one of the two species that complete their life cycles in the estuary was even moderately abundant in the inner estuary and the 15 freshwater species were relatively rare. Bass and particularly the sand goby complex were more numerous in the protected, inshore waters than the more offshore waters of the estuary. With the yellow and silver stages of the European eel, the reverse situation pertained. Seasonal changes in faunal composition were more pronounced in the inshore shallow than in more offshore deeper waters of the estuary. This largely reflected the sequential immigration of large numbers of the juveniles of marine estuarine-opportunist species into the former area for relatively short periods. Although the ichthyofaunal composition in the shallows at Oldbury underwent the same pattern of cyclical variation in each of five consecutive years, the degree of intra-annual variability differed, reflecting interannual differences in the recruitment strengths of the 0+ age classes of the different marine estuarine-opportunists. These cyclical changes were not correlated strongly with either salinity or water temperature. The faunal composition of the protected inshore, more marine waters of the inner Bristol Channel differed from those in both inshore and offshore regions of the inner estuary. The species which typified the fauna of the Channel were bib, poor cod, five-bearded rockling, sole and conger eel. Although the first four of these species were relatively more abundant in these waters than in the estuary, their juveniles often made extensive use of the shallows at Oldbury. This study emphasizes that, for some marine species, the protected inshore, and more marine, waters in the Bristol Channel can act as alternative nursery areas to those provided by the inshore shallows of the Severn Estuary.

The macrobenthic invertebrates in the shallow (Heteromastus filiformis (Claparède) (30·2%), Capitella capitata (Fabricius) (17·4%), Prionospio cirrifera (Wirén) (7·9%) and Boccardia chilensis (Blake & Woodwick) (5·4%), and the gastropod Hydrococcus brazieri (Tenison Woods) (12·4%). The numbers of species recorded in Wilson Inlet (41) were relatively very low for an estuary. This presumably reflects (i) the low salinities, which would restrict colonization by stenohaline marine species, (ii) the prevention of recruitment from the sea by the closure of the estuary mouth during the summer, at which time many macrobenthic species are producing pelagic larvae, (iii) the very limited tidal movements, and thus mechanisms for transporting larvae from the sea, when the estuary mouth is open, and (iv) the lack of a pronounced salinity gradient and the small variation in sediment composition along the estuary. Characteristics (ii–iv), together with the dispersal of pelagic larvae within the basin by wind mixing, would also account for the fact that faunal composition was influenced less by the region within the basin than by water depth. The densities of species, such as Ceratonereis aequisetis (Augener), Capitella capitata and H. brazieri, were greater in the shallow and medium depths than in deeper water, while the reverse pertained with P. cirrifera. Since densities of the first three species are correlated with the biomass of Ruppia megacarpa Mason, the greater amounts of this aquatic macrophyte in the shallow and medium-depth waters may thereby provide more food and/or protection from predators in those waters than would be the case in deep water. In contrast, P. cirrifera, which is a detritivore, would benefit from the greater proportion of particulate organic material in the deep waters. The greater habitat complexity in the shallow and medium-depths, that is provided by the greater amounts of R. megacarpa and shell debris in those waters, was associated with a greater species richness, diversity, density and biomass of benthic invertebrates. The composition of the fauna underwent cyclical changes, which were related, in part, to the patterns of recruitment of certain major taxa following spawning.

Atlantic salmon smolts were sampled from the intake screens of the Oldbury power station in the inner Severn Estuary at weekly intervals between July 1972 and June 1977. These catches, and those taken over nearly three years from the nearby Berkeley power station, demonstrated that the abundance of smolts in the estuary peaked in autumn (October) and, to a far greater extent, in spring (April and May). However, small numbers of smolts were occasionally found in all other months of the year except July. Standard length-frequency distributions of smolts remained unimodal throughout the year. Lengths ranged from 76 to 187 mm, mean 130·2 ±1·87 mm (95% CL), and wet weights ranged from 5·4 to 68·0 g, mean 26·9 ±1·17 g. The mean monthly standard length of smolts increased slightly between the autumn of one year and the spring/early summer of the next year, suggesting that, on average, the former were six months younger than the latter. The condition factor was significantly greater in autumn (1·40) than in spring (1·23). It is estimated that the total number of salmon smolts entrained annually on the screens at Oldbury during the five years ranged from 92 to 791, with a mean of 405. Total estimated numbers at Berkeley ranged from 196 to 788 per annum. The numbers at Oldbury are lower than those estimated for the downstream migrants of the Twaite shad, another anadromous species, and far lower than those of the most abundant of the marine fish species that use the Severn Estuary as a nursery area.

one of 353 port jackson sharks, heterodontus portusjacksoni, caught off the southern coast of western australia, was a hermaphrodite. the female reproductive tract consisted of a large (functional) right ovary with three large yolked ova, a small non-functional left ovary and two well-developed uteri and oviducal glands. the male tract comprised two conspicuous but undeveloped testes, two vas deferens and two calcified claspers with grooves. this individual represents the first published example of hermaphroditism in the order heterodontiformes and is a rare example of an elasmobranch with a complete suite of both male and female reproductive structures.

While the sprat, Sprattus sprattus (L.), may live for up to a total of six years, at the end of which time the total length can exceed 150 mm, the fishery in British waters is based primarily on the second, third and fourth year classes (Robertson, 1936, 1938; De Silva, 1973). Historically, the sprat was a major contributor to the fishery of the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary (Matthews, 1933; Lloyd, 1942). Although this fishery has declined during recent decades, the sprat has remained an important component of the teleost fauna of the region. This point is illustrated by the observation that S. sprattus was by far the most abundant of all teleosts in plankton samples taken throughout the Bristol Channel between the spring and autumn of 1974 (Russell, 1980). While length–frequency data were provided by Russell (1980) for these recently spawned sprat and there is comparable information for those sprat which form the basis of the commercial fishery in the Bristol Channel (Lloyd, 1942), no such data are available for those members of the population which are known sometimes to enter the Severn Estuary in considerable numbers (Lloyd, 1941).

The modes of life and environments of the extant agnathans (cyclostomes) are discussed in relation to their adaptations to temperature, light, oxygen and salinity. As their antitropical distribution indicates, both hagfishes and lampreys are cold water groups. Since hagfishes live in deeper waters than lampreys, they are not exposed to the marked seasonal changes in temperature and light which influence major events in the lamprey life cycle. Both groups tend to be nocturnally active, either burrowing during daylight as in the case of larval lampreys (ammocoetes) and most hagfishes, or showing cryptic behaviour as in the case of adult lampreys. Olfaction plays a major part in the location of prey, presumably aided in adult lampreys by their eyes and sensitive electrosensory system. Rates of standard oxygen consumption, ventilatory frequency and heart rate of adult lampreys increase at night. Standard oxygen consumption is relatively low in ammocoetes (as it also is in hagfishes) but increases markedly during metamorphosis into the adult lamprey. Ammocoetes and hagfishes, and to a lesser extent adult lampreys, are resistant to reduced environmental oxygen tensions. Differences in the oxygen dissociation curves of ammocoetes, adult lampreys and hagfishes can be related to differences in the characteristics of their monomeric haemoglobins and their environments and modes of life. The extraordinary tolerance of the hagfish heart to hypoxia is a reflection of a robust capacity for glycolysis, an LDH isozyme geared towards anaerobic functioning and a low work output. The hagfishes, which are restricted to marine waters, are osmoconformers. The osmolality of their blood, which is almost wholly attributable to inorganic ions, is virtually identical to that of full strength sea water (c. 1000 mOsmkg−1). By contrast, the osmolality of the blood of larval and adult lampreys when in fresh water is only 205-260 mOsm kg−1, i.e. about one quarter to one fifth of those of hagfish, and these rise only to 240-270 mOsm kg−1in the adults of anadromous lampreys in sea water. The regulation of ions by adult lampreys is achieved by mechanisms similar to those adopted by teleosts. The implications of the contrasting ionic and osmotic physiology of the two living groups of agnathans are discussed in relation to their possible environmental history and against the background of their Carboniferous fossil representatives.

The following three species of grey mullet (Mugilidae) are recorded by Wheeler (1978) for the waters of north-western Europe: thick-lipped mullet, Chelon labrosus (Risso, 1826); thin-lipped mullet, Liza ramada (Risso, 1826) and golden mullet, Liza aurata (Risso, 1810). Liza ramada was obtained in relatively large numbers during the course of extensive sampling of the material collected on the intake screens of power stations in the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary (for details of other studies see e.g. Claridge & Gardner, 1977, 1978; Titmus, Claridge & Potter, 1978; Abou-Seedo & Potter, 1979; Claridge & Potter, 1983, 1984). Since there is apparently no detailed information on the biology of the thin-lipped mullet in the estuaries of north-western Europe based on regular frequent collections, the power station material was used to provide data on seasonal and annual abundance, size composition, growth and lip depth of this species in the Severn Estuary and Bristol Channel. Comparisons have been made between these data and those obtained for C. labrosus from the same environments and more particularly from outside the area at Pembroke where much larger collections of this latter species were taken.

Eight species of the Gobiidae were recorded in weekly samples taken between July 1972 and June 1977 from the intake screens of Oldbury Power Station in the inner Severn Estuary.Buenia jeffreysii, Aphia minuta, Gobius paganellusandGobius nigeroccurred infrequently andCrystallogobius lineariswas only common in the late spring and summer of 1975 and 1976.Pomatoschistus microps, which peaked in numbers in the winter, increased in abundance each year between 1972 and 1977. The most numerous gobies were those belonging to thePomatoschistus minutuscomplex which were separated intoP. minutusandP. lozanoionly between June 1974 and July 1975. Seasonal trends in the abundance of these two species were similar, with elevated numbers occurring between July and September 1974 and in January 1975. Gonadosomatic indices and other data indicate that the decline in numbers after the latter month represented an emigration to spawning areas further down the estuary or in the Bristol Channel. AlthoughP. minutusattained a larger body size thanP. lozanoi, both these species andP. micropstypically had a one year life cycle with only a small number of individuals surviving for a further few months. The fecundity of P.lozanoi, which ranged from 410–2453 (mean 1270), was lower than that reported forP. minutusin this and other studies. Analysis of stomach contents showed that the diet of both species was similar, consisting predominantly of gammarids and mysids. While both species were infected withLigula intestinalis, the incidence of infection and the parasite index was greater inP. lozanoithan inP. minutus.

During a period of five years in the mid-1970s, fish were collected at weekly intervals from the Severn Estuary and Bristol Channel. The resultant data on the abundance and lengths of these fish have provided valuable information on the times when the juveniles of several marine species are recruited into the estuary and on their pattern of growth during the first years of life (Claridge & Gardner, 1977; Titmus, Claridge & Potter, 1978; Claridge & Potter, 1983, 1984, 1985; Potter & Claridge, 1985). One of the marine species found in the Severn Estuary for which no seasonal data on density or body size have been presented is the sole, Solea solea (L.), whose relative abundance ranked it amongst the top ten species in two of the five years of our study (Claridge, Potter & Hardisty, 1986).

Samples collected from power station intake screens between 1972 and 1977 have been used to study aspects of the biology of the whiting in the Severn Estuary and Bristol Channel. 0+ whiting generally started appearing in the inner estuary in July, at which time their standard length was at least 38 mm. Their numbers peaked in October and subsequently declined particularly rapidly during the wet winter of 1976/7 when salinities were frequently below 10‰. The size of 0+ whiting in the late autumn and early winter was generally less in the shallows of the Inner Severn Estuary than in neighbouring deeper waters and in the Inner Bristol Channel. Growth rates of 0 + whiting fell within the range of those recorded for the North Sea, but below those generally found in inshore waters and sea lochs on the west coast of Scotland. Following their immigration into inshore waters in the Bristol Channel and Inner Severn Estuary, young whiting became infected with the copepod parasites Lernaeocera branchialis and Clavella adunca and the metacercariae of the heterophyid digenean Cryptocotyle lingua. Prevalence of infection was less in 0+ than older fish and infection by L. branchialis caused a significant decline in condition. As whiting became larger, the main site of attachment of Clavella adunca changed gradually from the wall of the branchial chamber to the primary rakers of the first gill arch. Vertebral counts suggest that the whiting which enter the Inner Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary are not representatives of the populations found in the Irish Sea.

Estuaries perform a crucial role in the life-cycle of many fish (Cronin & Mansueti, 1971; Day, Blaber & Wallace, 1981; Dando, 1984). They provide a migratory route for anadromous and catadromous species and an environment in which the limited number of true estuarine teleosts spend the whole of their life cycle. The upper reaches are colonized by certain freshwater species while the lower regions are penetrated by some marine fish during high tide. However, many marine teleosts enter and remain within estuaries for a period of time, often in very large numbers and particularly during the early part of life (see e.g. Gunter, 1938, 1961, 1967; Huddart & Arthur, 1971; van den Broek, 1980; Blaber & Blaber, 1980; Potteret al.1983; Whitfield, 1983). The recognition that estuaries act as important nursery areas for certain teleosts by providing such features as a rich food source and protection from predation (see e.g. Pearcy & Richards, 1962] Jacquaz, Able & Leggett, 1977; Blaber & Blaber, 1980) has led to such species being referred to as estuarine-dependent (see e.g. McHugh, 1976; Beal, 1980; Fortier & Leggett, 1982).

Samples collected regularly from the intake screens of power stations between July 1972 and June 1977 demonstrate that the Gadidae is the most abundant and diverse teleost family in the inner Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary. The first records for the Severn Estuary of two cold water species, northern rockling and Norway pout, which were present in appreciable numbers, may be related to the effects of the changes that commenced in south-western English waters during the 1960s. Maximum numbers of the five most abundant gadoids were attained in different years, with the greatest catches being recorded for whiting and poor cod in 1975/6, bib and pollack in 1974/5 and northern rockling in 1976/7. Peak abundance in the middle estuary was reached by whiting, bib, poor cod and pollack in the autumn and by northern rockling in the winter or early spring. The 0 + age class of these species, which was always by far the most predominant category, showed increases in mean length during their relatively short stay in the estuary. Movement out of the shallows of the inner Severn Estuary by whiting and also apparently by some other gadoids occurred when salinities fell below 10‰. The size of poor cod and pollack in the autumn was not as great in 1974 as in 1975 and 1976, presumably reflecting the effect on growth of lower summer temperatures in the first of these years. Poor cod was represented by five age classes and attained at the end of the first to fifth years of life standard lengths of approximately 80 mm (≡4.8 g), 110 mm (≡11.7g), 140 mm (≡23.0 g), 170 mm (≡39.6 g) and 210 mm (≡71.6 g) respectively.