© Baker, J.L. (2009) Marine Species of Conservation Concern in South Australia Full citation Baker, J.L. (2009) Marine Species of Conservation Concern in South Australia: Volume 1 - Bony and Cartilaginous Fishes. Report for the South Australian Working Group for Marine Species of Conservation Concern. J. Baker (consultant); Science and Conservation Division, and Coast and Marine Conservation branches of S.A. Department for Environment and Heritage (DEH); Marine and Coastal Community Network of S.A. (MCCN), and Threatened Species Network (TSN). Web version published by Reef Watch, South Australia.

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Rosy Weedfish

Family Name:	Clinidae
Scientific Name:	Heteroclinus roseus (Günther, 1861)
Recommended Status in S.A:	Data Deficient
Rationale:  Rosy Weedfish is included here because (i) the species is strongly site-associated in nearshore habitats, and may thus be vulnerable to habitat impacts in some areas; (ii) Clinids reproduce at a small, site-associated scale (and have live young), characteristics that may make the species vulnerable to population decline; and (iii) there appears to be little information existing about life history; population sizes; the extent of take by anglers and the aquarium trade; and specific impacts of habitat degradation in parts of the range.

Page Contents

Current Conservation Status

No listings known

Distribution

Australia

Widely distributed in southern waters, from the Queensland / New South Wales border, through Victoria, S.A. and W.A. Dongara is the northern limit in W.A. (B. Hutchins, W.A. Museum, pers. comm., 2007). There are records of this species from across the bottom half of Australia (Australian Museum records, Museum of Victoria records, W.A. Museum records, cited in OZCAM database, 2007).
Kuiter (1993) also recorded Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands, and Tasmania, as part of the distribution. The species has also been found in the Huon River and D'Entrecasteaux Channel (DPIWE, 2002).

South Australia

Examples of localities in S.A. where the species has been recorded include the Investigator Group islands in the eastern Great Australian Bight; Elizabeth Bay / Tiparra area in eastern Spencer Gulf; northern Kangaroo Island / Investigator Strait area; northern and north-eastern Kangaroo I.; southern Kangaroo I.; south-western Gulf St Vincent / “heel” of Yorke Peninsula; southern Fleurieu Peninsula, and Encounter Bay (Australian Museum records, S.A. Museum records, cited in OZCAM database, 2007; S.A. Museum data, 2006, cited by R. Foster, pers. comm., 2006).

Habitat

Rosy Weedfish mostly occurs in brown and red macroalgae on rocky reefs (but see below), from the intertidal to around 35m (Kuiter, 1993 and 1996b; Hoese et al., in Gomon et al., 1994). The species is considered common in “weed and reef” areas, but rarely seen due to its camouflage pattern (Hutchins and Swainston, 1986).
In south-western W.A., Rosy Weedfish has been recorded in estuaries (Potter et al., 1990); also in sandy surf zone habitat (Ayvazian and Hyndes, 1995), and in sandy, shallow subtidal areas where drift macroalgae accumulates (Hyndes et al., 1999).  Also in south-western Australia, Hutchins (2005) reported H. roseus to be recorded occasionally in both seagrass beds and on reefs at the Recherche Archipelago and in mainland bays, and rarely in seagrass beds at Israelite Bay.

Notes on the Biology

Growth

H. roseus is reported to grow to 15cm (Hutchins and Swainston, 2001).
One of the maximum weights recorded is 50g (Hutchins and Swainston, 2001), being a specimen caught at Ocean Reef in W.A., in 1989 (Australian Anglers Association, 2005).
No estimates of longevity were found for this report; however, it is noted that post-settlement growth is rapid, and a study of 12 weedfish species in south-eastern Australia showed that most of the reproductive populations consist of fishes in the 1 + year-class (Gunn and Thresher, 1991).

Reproduction

Temperate weedfishes are viviparous, many are “super-foetate” (simultaneously developing multiple batches of eggs and/or embryo) and reproduce over several months in spring and summer (Gunn and Thresher, 1991). Maternal investment in the nutrition of the young is high. After parturition, the larvae spend from 3 to 7 weeks in the plankton, primarily in in-shore waters (Gunn and Thresher, 1991).

Fisheries Information

The species is not targeted by fishers; however, the Australian Anglers Association (W.A. Division) keeps State Fishing Records of the maximum sizes of Rosy Weedfish caught incidentally in Western Australian waters.
H. roseus is listed on an international website for the aquarium trade; however no trade information on that species is included on the site. During the early 2000s, aquarium trade websites in Russia and Germany were also advertising Heteroclinus roseus (with one site reporting that specimens were sourced from Indonesia, which is not part of the species range).

Vulnerable Characteristics of the Species and Threatening Processes

This member of the Clinidae is strongly site-associated in coastal areas of macroalgae (and also occurs in seagrass beds), and processes which damage such habitats may adversely affect populations of Clinid species, but there are no specific data.
Members of the family are viviparous (bear live young), and therefore reproduce at a local, site-associated level, and have low dispersive ability, characteristics that can increase vulnerability to processes causing population decline.

Research Requirements

There is little information about the biology and population dynamics of this species.
Information on the distribution, relative abundance, habitat requirements and biology may help in better determining the susceptibility of weedfishes to threats such as habitat degradation. However, the difficulty of determining distribution and relative abundance of small, cryptic, benthic species such as weedfishes is noted.

Management Requirements

Generally, protection from degradation is required for nearshore habitats in which this species resides, including protection from processes that result in physical removal of coastal marine vegetation stands, or degrade the quality of such habitat (e.g. though impacts of eutrophication, siltation etc).

Other Information

Rosy Weedfish is one of the most widely distributed Clinids in southern Australia, with the species showing considerable geographic variation across its range (Hoese et al., in Gomon et al., 1994).

Support for S.A. Listing:

Barry Hutchins (ex-West Australian Museum) who recommended Data Deficient category