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Thesis working title:Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Reef Fishes in Fiordland, New Zealand.Research Summary:My thesis work incorporates two of my primary interests – spatial ecology and marine management. I am investigating patterns of reef fish abundance and diversity throughout the varied habitats of Fiordland, with emphasis on the Doubtful Sound Complex, using underwater visual census techniques. The main aims are to characterize the marine habitats, elucidate distribution patterns of reef fish assemblages along environmental gradients, and determine the mechanisms that likely drive the observed patterns. Reef fish abundance was first surveyed in 1985 and there have been a series of censuses since that time to provide a baseline as a comparison to data I collected during the summer and autumn of 2008. My findings will be discussed in terms of the marine management plan currently in place, which includes ten marine reserves as well as commercial exclusion zones within the inner fjord habitat.
Key Words: temperate reef, reef fish, assemblage, habitat, UVC, marine reserves, spatial management, species turnover, distribution, environmental gradient
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