Assessing and evaluating juvenile habitat quality for European seabass

Marine Conservation Research Group
Rachel Turnbull monitoring European Bass
Project title: Fostering resilient socio-ecological systems at the interface of land and sea: conservation needs and seascape connectivity of an economically-important, transnational fish species under climate change
Funded by: University Research Studentship (University of Plymouth/University College Cork DTP); Bass Anglers Sportfishing Society (BASS)
Dates: October 2022 – September 2026
Partners: Bass Anglers Sportfishing Society (BASS); Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS); Cornwall Bass Investigations Group; Inland Fisheries Ireland; University of Essex
University of Plymouth staff: Rachel Turnbull , Dr Benjamin Ciotti
 
 
 
 
 
This project focuses on identifying the important habitats required by young juvenile European sea bass, Dicentrarchus labrax, as well as how these requirements may alter under climate change.
European sea bass is a relatively slow-growing, economically important fish with a biphasic life cycle. Juveniles spend the first four-to-five years of life within estuaries and other inshore areas, before migrating out to join the adult population offshore. Previous work has identified the movements of older juveniles within these estuaries, but little work has been done on juveniles under two years old. Furthermore, there is little understanding of the patterns in growth and condition of these very young juveniles within the estuaries.

Methodology

Using a combination of traditional fisheries sampling techniques and novel biochemical methods, we will compare the abundance and nutritional condition of age-0 and age-1 sea bass from estuaries across Devon and Cornwall. Additionally, we will use otolith microstructural analysis to compare growth rates in fish from across the south coast of England and Ireland's east and west coasts. This will allow us to develop a robust understanding of the geographic variation and underlying drivers of sea bass nursery habitat quality. The project is working primarily across the Fowey, Tamar, Erme, and south Devon Avon estuaries, with additional sampling from the Fal, Helford, Severn, Taw, Exe, and Slainey estuaries, and Tralee Bay.
Under climate change, the conditions within these estuaries will change, which may affect their quality as nursery habitats. This project will use aquarium studies to better understand how the growth and condition of these fish responds to different conditions. The metrics developed during this project will assist us in predicting how juvenile sea bass may respond to climate change in terms of growth, survival and distribution, which will, in turn, have implications for the broader adult population.
European Bass juvenile habitat Rachel Turnbull
The work in the Fal and Helford was undertaken in conjunction with the Bass Anglers Sportfishing Society (BASS). Samples from Tralee and the Slainey were collected by Inland Fisheries Ireland. The work in the Severn, Taw, and Exe was performed in conjunction with the University of Essex.
 
 
 

Fish Habitat Research Unit

The Fish Habitat Research Unit (FHRU) at the University of Plymouth forms an important pool of expertise investigating how marine habitats support fisheries, sustainability and nature conservation.
Through a transdisciplinary approach, the unit partners with a range of actors in fisheries and conservation, providing the research capacity to inform robust decision making and management approaches to pressing real-world problems.
Fish Habitat Research Group