[Coral-List] New meta-analysis of dredging impacts on fish

[Amelia Wenger]

Dear coral-list,

 Our new paper entitled, "A critical analysis of the direct effects of dredging
on fish" has just been published in Fish and Fisheries:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1111/faf.12218/full

Abstract:

          Dredging can have significant impacts on aquatic environments,
but the direct effects on fish have not been critically evaluated. Here, a
meta-analysis following a conservative approach is used to understand how
dredging-related stressors, including suspended sediment, contaminated
sediment, hydraulic entrainment and underwater noise, directly influence
the effect size and the response elicited in fish across all aquatic
ecosystems and all life history stages. This is followed by an in-depth
review summarizing the effects of each dredging-related stressor on fish.
Across all dredging-related stressors, studies that reported fish mortality
had significantly higher effect sizes than those that describe
physiological responses, though indicators of dredging impacts should
endeavor to detect effects before excessive mortality occurs. Studies
examining the effects of contaminated sediment also had significantly
higher effect sizes than studies on clean sediment alone or noise,
suggesting synergistic impacts from dredging-related stressors. The early
life stages such as eggs and larvae were most likely to suffer lethal
impacts, while behavioral effects were more likely to occur to adult
catadromous fishes. Both suspended sediment concentration and duration of
exposure greatly influenced the type of fish response observed, with both
higher concentrations and longer exposure durations associated with fish
mortality. The review highlights the need for in-situ studies on the
effects of dredging on fish which consider the interactive effects of
multiple dredging-related stressors and their impact on sensitive species
of ecological and fisheries value. This information will improve the
management of dredging projects and ultimately minimize their impacts on
fish.


Cheers,

Amelia
-- 
*Amelia Wenger*

Postdoctoral Research Fellow | School of Earth and Environmental Sciences
The University of Queensland

Twitter: @AmeliaWenger

http://www.sees.uq.edu.au/ <http://www.gpem.uq.edu.au/>