https://ogma.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Index ${session.getAttribute("locale")} 5 https://ogma.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Repository/uon:11349 Wed 11 Apr 2018 09:51:11 AEST ]]> https://ogma.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Repository/uon:40554 Metapenaeus macleayi (School Prawn) and Penaeus plebejus (Eastern King Prawn) are two commercially and recreationally important species in New South Wales that utilise estuarine nurseries throughout their life history. In this study, stable isotopes of carbon, nitrogen and sulfur were used to determine the proportional contribution of primary producers to prawn nutrition in Brisbane Water (NSW). Both the saltmarsh grass Sporobolus virginicus and seagrass Zostera muelleri were found to support a high trophic contribution to prawns (up to 53% and 40%, respectively). The contributions of other primary producers such as mangroves, fine benthic organic matter (FBOM) and C3 saltmarsh plants were generally found to be much lower (0.7-15%). Such findings are generally consistent with patterns observed in other south-east Australian estuaries, however such a dominant role of saltmarsh in the presence of seagrass is a novel finding. These results highlight linkages between habitats of conservation concern and highly valuable fisheries species, and the benefit of using sulfur as an additional marker in Bayesian mixing models examining estuarine food webs.]]> Fri 22 Jul 2022 15:25:21 AEST ]]>