Visual acuity of snapper Pagrus auratus: effect of size and spectral composition

The effect of motorboat sound on Australian snapper Pagrus auratus inside and outside a marine reserve

Human-generated sound affects hearing, movement, and communication in both aquatic and terrestrial animals, but direct natural underwater behavioral observations are lacking. Baited underwater video (BUV) were deployed in near shore waters adjacent to Goat Island in the Cape Rodney-Okakari Point Marine Reserve (protected) or outside the reserve approximately four km south in Mathesons Bay (open), New Zealand to determine the natural behavior of Australian snapper Pagrus auratus exposed to motorboat sound. BUVs worked effectively at bringing fish into video range to assess the effects of sound. The snapper inhabiting the protected area showed no behavioral response to motorboat transits; however, fish in the open zones either scattered from the video frame or decreased feeding activity during boat presence. Our study suggests that motorboat sound, a common source of anthropogenic activity in the marine environment can affect fish behavior differently depending on the status of their habitat (protected versus open).

Hypoxia impairs visual acuity in snapper (Pagrus auratus)

We investigated the effect of environmental hypoxia on vision in snapper (Pagrus auratus). Juvenile snapper inhabit estuarine environments where oxygen conditions fluctuate on a seasonal basis. Optomotor experiments demonstrated that visual acuity is impaired by environmental hypoxia, but not until levels approach the critical oxygen tension (P crit) of this species (around 25% air-saturated seawater). In 100, 80, and 60% air-saturated seawater, a positive optomotor response was present at a minimum separable angle (M SA) of 1°. In 40% air-saturated seawater, vision was partially impaired with positive responses at M SAs of 2° and above. However, in 25% air-saturated seawater, visual acuity was seriously impaired, with positive responses only present at M SAs of 6° and above. Snapper were found to possess a choroid rete, facilitating the maintenance of high ocular oxygen partial pressures (PO2) during normoxia and moderate hypoxia (PO2, between 269 and 290 mmHg). However, at 40 and 25% water oxygen saturation, ocular PO2 was reduced to below 175 mmHg, which is perhaps linked to impairment of visual acuity in these conditions. The ability to preserve visual function during moderate hypoxia is beneficial for the maintenance of a visual lifestyle in the fluctuating oxygen environments of estuaries.