Oral Presentation Australian Society for Fish Biology Conference 2017

Visual census, photographic records and the trial of a video network provide first evidence of the elusive Sicyopterus cynocephalus in Australia. (#66)

Brendan C Ebner 1 , James A Donaldson 2 , Gerald R Allen 3 , Philippe Keith 4
  1. TropWATER, JCU, Atherton, QLD, Australia
  2. TropWATER, James Cook University, Atehrton, QLD, Australia
  3. Department of Aquatic Zoology, Western Australian Museum, Perth, WA, Australia
  4. Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris, France

Opportunistic encounters with an elusive large-bodied sicydiine goby in a single plunge pool led us to photograph and deploy three video cameras to detect individuals in that pool. Subsequently, a catchment-wide search indicated that the species, eventually identified as Sicyopterus cynocephalus, was confined to the single pool where it was originally detected. A network of ten video cameras was then deployed to estimate the number of individuals of that species and a congener, Sicyopterus lagocephalus, by non-destructive means. This study provides the first record of Sicyopterus cynocephalus in Australia, and showcases the synergy of active snorkel searches and a remote camera network in counting individuals of two sympatric species of Sicyopterus.