Transport and recruitment of silver-lip pearl oyster larvae on Australia's North West Shelf

Silver-lip pearl oyster (Pinctada maxima) spat surveyed in the Eighty Mile Beach section of the North West Shelf have been used in conjunction With Outputs from a particle dispersion model to identify likely spawning grounds. The dispersion model consisted of a 3-dimensional regional circulation model in which large numbers of individual particles were tracked over the period 1994 to 1999. From the settlement areas defined by the spat data, larvae were tracked back in time over their estimated pelagic phase of 24-31 days within the main spawning period of mid October to late December. The reverse calculation was also undertaken looking at larval dispersion from known broodstock populations. Results demonstrate that large tidal currents in the region move larvae back and forth across the shelf, whereas lower frequency currents influence their net transport. Whereas some model larvae traveled more than 60 kin, most were transported less than 30 kill. The model results suggest that spawning in the Eighty Mile Beach region is concentrated around the recently surveyed broodstock distribution between 8 and 15 in depth, with potential smaller contributions from the northeast. These spawning events are likely to lead to successful recruitment locally and alongshore to the southwest. They also feed larvae into neighboring shallow coastal environments (through tidal oscillations) and deeper waters to the west (similar to 20 m). However. spat abundances seem to be low in these areas. suggesting that recruitment is strongly limited by habitat availability and possibly high mortality rates in shallow water. High local abundances of broodstock and spat observed occasionally in deeper water (similar to 30 m) seem to be supported by intermittent larval transport from inshore populations. However, spawning in this area seems to contribute little to recruitment in the inshore populations.