Mr. Francisco Martínez Baena
Position: PhD
Department: Biological Sciences
University/Institute/Company: Macquarie University
About
My research is focussed on how oysters provide habitat for fish in New South Wales (Australia). Oyster reefs were a predominant habitat in temperate Australia, but nowadays they are considered functionally extinct.
My objective is to determine how the remnant reefs provide habitat for fish species in two estuaries in NSW: Botany Bay and Port Stephens. For that, I use underwater cameras and film these habitats and study their species richness and fish behaviour around them. Furthermore, I work with the adjacent habitats: mangroves, bare sediment and seagrass, as all the habitats in the estuary are functionally interconnected. Studying fish behaviour and habitat connectivity would provide a different perspective of how these mobile organisms use the estuaries depending on their requirements and life stage and what it the role of oyster reefs for this matter. There is growing interest in restoring the lost oyster reefs of south eastern Australia, to enhance fisheries productivity, improve water quality and stabilize shorelines. This study will determine the likely benefits to fisheries productivity of oyster reef restoration, and assess in which habitat contexts restoration aimed at enhancement of fisheries productivity is likely to be most successful. Provision of shell substrate and spat to restoration projects represents a possible future income stream to oyster farmers. This study will also document the important role oyster farms play as habitat for fish, which although well-known among recreational fishermen and oyster farmers, is poorly documented in the scientific literature. In doing so, it will assist in promoting the environmental benefits to the wider public, and the scientific community, of oyster farming.
Disciplines: Biology
- Biology: Ecology, Marine Biology
