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CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research
Past Seminars

Seminar Abstract

Penaeid larval dispersal and postlarval recruitment processes

Commercially important penaeid prawns undergo a complex life cycle with offshore spawning, a planktonic larval phase, and a nearshore of estuarine postlarval and juvenile phase prior to a subsequent offshore migration into the fishery. The number of larvae which are successfully transported from the offshore and the number of postlarvae that gain access to their nursery grounds are key determinants of recruitment success and ultimately catch. Equally, understanding which part of the potential spawning stock actually contributes to annual recruitment is an important factor in fisheries management.

Over the past 25 years CSIRO biologists and oceanographers have been measuring and modelling the interplay between larval behaviour and the physical environment (e.g. light and current regimes) in both the Gulf of Carpentaria and East Coast of Australia to assess the factors that determine both larval advection trajectories and postlarval recruitment processes and how those define the effective spawning population. The seminar will trace the historical approaches taken and some of the key outcomes. I will also propose some new technologies that might give further resolution to these recruitment dynamics which will aid in refining both scientific studies, validate models and assist fishery management practices.

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CSIRO = Marine Laboratories Auditorium, Castray Esplanade, Hobart

For further information, or to schedule a seminar, contact:
Peter Oke, (Oceanographic seminars) CSIRO Marine Research (03) 6232 5387
Keith Hayes, (Biological seminars) CSIRO Marine Research (03) 6232 5298
Katrina Nitschke, Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC (03) 6226 2265 & IASOS, University of Tasmania (03) 6226 2509