Table 1. Treatment manipulation of mesocosms.

Treatment	Manipulation
T1	Estuary water filtered through 20 µm mesh
T2	Estuary water filtered through 80 µm mesh
T3	Estuary water filtered through 500 µm mesh
T4	Unfiltered estuary water
T5	Unfiltered estuary water, with addition of 2 early life-history fish (natural densities)

Three replicate mesocosms were established for each of the five treatments (T). T1–T3 involved the filtration of gravity fed water through various mesh sized sieves, while T4 was filled with unfiltered estuarine water. For T5, unfiltered estuarine water was employed and stocked with early life-history fish as model apex planktonic predators.