Temporal changes in the fish fauna entering a tidal swamp system in tropical Australia

Leanyer Swamp, a tidal swamp in tropical Australia, is a nursery area for a number of fish species of marine origin. Juveniles of 38 species, representing 24 families, were trapped between October 1979 and March 1980 as they entered the swamp on flood spring tides. The composition of the fish fauna varied markedly between the late dry, early wet and late wet seasons. Of the 17 species whose numbers were significantly correlated to environmental parameters, 15 were correlated wholly or in part with season. The season, the sequence of flood spring tides and the height of these tides determined the movement of the fish community as a whole. The seasonal abundance of many fish species was determined more by their breeding patterns and the dispersal abilities of their juveniles than by such environmental parameters as temperature and salinity which, despite their seasonal change, varied over the short-term with the interaction of tides and rainfall.