© 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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Smooth Pipefish / Australian Smooth Pipefish

Family Name:	Syngnathidae
Scientific Name:	Lissocampus caudalis Waite and Hale, 1921
Recommended Status in S.A:	Data Deficient
Rationale:  Smooth Pipefish is included here because (i) it is a species of syngnathid, from a family whose members are considered to have vulnerable population characteristics; (ii) the species may occur over a relatively narrow depth range (i.e. normally known from less than 10m); (iii) little is known of the relative abundance in S.A., or of the biology, population dynamics and ecology of this species; and (iv) in some areas, impacts on nearshore habitats (including trawling / dredging, netting, effluent discharge and sedimentation, and coastal developments, amongst others) could adversely affect populations of Smooth Pipefish, but there is no species-specific information. Surveys in S.A. are required in rubble and shallow seagrass habitats, particularly in the gulfs region, Kangaroo Island and eastern Great Australian Bight, to better determine the distribution and relative abundance of this species in this State.

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Current Conservation Status

All syngnathids are listed as Protected Aquatic Biota in Victoria
The Tasmanian Living Marine Resources Management Act 1995 prohibits the take of all syngnathids in Tasmania (by non-permit holders, since Sep 1994)
All syngnathids are subject to the export controls of the Commonwealth Wildlife Protection (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act 1982 from 1 January 1998.
All syngnathids and solenostomids are listed marine species under s248 of the EPBC Act 1999
Since January 2006, fishes in the Syngnathidae (seadragons, pipefish, pipehorses) have been formally protected in South Australia, under the Fisheries (General) Variation Regulations 2006 of the South Australian Fisheries Act.
 

Distribution

Southern Australia

The species is widespread along Australia’s south coast (Kuiter, 2000). L. caudalis occurs in Victoria (e.g. Flinders, Portsea and other areas in Port Philip Bay, as well as other parts of the Victorian coast), northern Tasmania (e.g. Greens Beach, near Tamar River mouth, and other locations), Bass Strait (Furneaux Group), South Australia, to southern W.A. (e.g. Rottnest Island) (Scott, 1971; Dawson, 1985, and in Gomon et al., 1994; Butler et al., 2002a, 2002b; Hutchins, 2005).
 

South Australia

In South Australia, examples of locations where the species has been recorded include the Venus Bay area in western Eyre Peninsula / eastern Great Australian Bight; Port Lincoln area in south-western Spencer Gulf; Port Giles (unverified records) and Edithburgh and other parts of western Gulf St Vincent; Largs Bay (the northern metropolitan coast in GSV); Encounter Bay (e.g. at a site near Victor Harbor), and north-eastern Kangaroo Island (e.g. near Point Marsden, and other areas) (Glover, 1979; Eschmeyer, 1997; Fairhead et al., 2002a; K. Smith, unpubl. data, 2004; South Australian Museum records, Museum of Victoria records, Australian Museum records, cited in OZCAM database, 2007).
Kangaroo Island is the type locality (Waite and Hale, 1921).

Habitat

The species inhabits mixed rubble areas and low reefs covered with macroalgae in semi-exposed shallow coastal bays, and in rock pools (Dawson, 1985; Kuiter, 2000). L. caudalis is also found in Zostera seagrass beds in shallow inshore waters and tide pools (Dawson, 1985, and in Gomon et al., 1994), where it mimics a piece of exposed seagrass rhizome (Kuiter, 2000; Smith, 2007). The species has also been recorded from Amphibolis antarctica seagrass beds, in shallow water (i.e. 3m – 4m) (South Australian Museum record, cited in OZCAM database, 2007).
In Port Phillip Bay in Victoria, L. caudalis has been recorded in the shallow subtidal (e.g. 0.5m – 2m), at shallow patch reefs surrounds by sand, and adjacent to Zostera seagrass beds (Moreau and Vincent, 2004). Reef vegetation at the site included Sargassum, Cystophora and Caulocystis species, with the red Laurencia in the understorey (Moreau and Vincent, 2004). There is also a record from unvegetated sand habitat at a site in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria (Hindell et al., 2001).
In Victoria, there are records from under jetties (e.g. in NMV Ichthyology specimen A2897); also on artificial reefs / wrecks (NMV Ichthyology specimen A18144, cited in OZCAM database, 2007), and also from unvegetated sand habitat, at a site in Port Phillip Bay (Hindell et al., 2001).   
In south-western Australia, surveys have recorded the species rarely on reefs at the Recherche Archipelago, and occasionally on reefs in mainland bays. At Israelite Bay, the species has been recorded rarely on reefs and in seagrass beds (Hutchins, 2005).
In a study in south-western W.A., over 5 consecutive seasons from summer 1996/1997 to summer 1997/1998, 4 specimens were recorded in a dense meadow of Amphibolis griffithii, and 1 specimen was recorded in a sparse clump of Posidonia coriacea, surrounded by areas of bare sand and patches of Heterozostera tasmanica, at depths of 4m – 9m (Kendrick and Hyndes, 2003).
According to Dawson (1985), the species is sometimes found amongst floating Sargassum plants.
 

Notes on Biology and Behaviour

L. caudalis reaches a length of around 10cm (Dawson, 1985, and in Gomon et al., 1994).
Adults are usually found in pairs (Kuiter, 2000).
Males brood eggs in a pouch on the underside of the body anterior to the anal fin, and may be brooding at 7cm SL (Dawson, 1985).
 

Vulnerable Characteristics of the Species, and Threatening Processes

Many of the life history characteristics of syngnathids make them susceptible to impacts, and vulnerable to population decline. Such characteristics include low population densities; strong habitat association; small home range sizes and low mobility; possible low rates of natural adult mortality (due to low levels of predation, hence human-induced mortality may disrupt population dynamics); monogamy and localised reproduction; aggregation (in some species) for feeding and/or breeding; small brood sizes, and strong association between adults and young.
In a draft ecological risk assessment, L. caudalis was assessed as being at “medium risk” of population impacts from operation of the Danish seine sub-fishery of the South East Trawl Fishery (Wayte et al., 2004). However, there is no information available on the presence of this species in bycatch of the SETF (e.g. Knuckey et al., 2002; Knuckey and Berrie, 2002; Wayte et al., 2004), and, given the currently known habitat and depth range of this species, the incidence of capture is likely to be low, if at all.  Similarly, in a draft ecological risk assessment for the Gillnet, Hook and Trap Fishery (Webb et al., 2004), L. caudalis was ranked as being at “medium” risk of population impact from the operation of each of the following sectors: the southern shark gillnet sub-fishery, southern shark demersal long-line sub-fishery, scalefish demersal long-line sub-fishery, scalefish automatic long-lining sub-fishery, and scalefish drop-line sub-fishery. However, despite these listings, bycatch data are not available for the fishery (e.g. Knuckey et al., 2001; Webb et al., 2004), and, given the currently known habitat and depth range, the frequency of capture is likely to be very low, if at all.
There are records from scallop dredging in northern Tasmania (e.g. California Academy of Sciences record, cited in Anonymous, 1993), but the frequency of capture, and potential population impacts, are not known for this report. 
Impacts on nearshore habitats (including trawling / dredging, netting, effluent discharge and sedimentation, and coastal developments, amongst others) could adversely affect populations of Smooth Pipefish, but there is no species-specific information;
 

Research Requirements

There are few known specimens from South Australia. Surveys in suitable habitat are required to better determine the distribution and relative abundance of this species, the critical habitat requirements in the South Australian part of the range, and full depth range. 
Very little is known of the biology (including longevity, reproduction etc) and ecology of this species.
 

Management Requirements

Generally, ongoing protection from degradation is required for nearshore seagrass beds, rubble habitats and nearshore reefs.
Although unlikely due to the shallow depth range, if the species is present in the bycatch of coastal fisheries (such as prawn trawls), such information should be recorded over space and time, and methods to reduce the bycatch of syngnathid fishes should be adopted where possible. 
 

Other Information

Lissocampus species, including L. caudalis are rarely seen (Kuiter, 2000), but this may reflect their small size, and cryptic appearance in the preferred habitats, rather than low numbers (Dawson, in Gomon et al., 1994). 
In draft ecological risk assessments, L. caudalis was assessed as being at “low risk” of population impacts from operation of the otter trawl sub-fishery of the South East Trawl Fishery (Wayte et al., 2004), the Great Australian Bight Trawl fishery (Daley et al., 2006), and the Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery (AFMA, 2006d).