Acoustic tracking of reef fishes to elucidate habitat utilization patterns and residence times inside and outside marine protected areas around the island of St. … (original) (raw)
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2011
NOAA's Biogeography Branch, National Park Service (NPS), US Geological Survey, and the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) are using acoustic telemetry to quantify spatial patterns and habitat affinities of reef fishes. The objective of the study is to define the movements of reef fishes among habitats within and between the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument (VICRNM), the Virgin Islands National Park (VIIS), and Territorial waters. In order to better understand species' habitat utilization patterns among management regimes, we deployed an array of hydroacoustic receivers and acoustically tagged reef fishes. A total of 150 fishes, representing 18 species and 10 families were acoustically tagged along the south shore of St. John. Thirty six receivers were deployed in shallow nearshore bays and across the shelf to depths of approximately 30m. Example results include the movement of lane snappers and blue striped grunts that demonstrated diel movement from reef habitats during daytime hours to offshore seagrass beds at night. The array comprised of both nearshore and cross shelf location of receivers provides information on fine to broad scale fish movement patterns across habitats and among management units to examine the strength of ecological connectivity between management areas and habitats.
NOAA’s Biogeography Branch, National Park Service (NPS), US Geological Survey, and the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) are using acoustic telemetry to quantify spatial patterns and habitat affinities of reef fishes. The objective of the study is to define the movements of reef fishes among habitats within and between the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument (VICRNM), the Virgin Islands National Park (VIIS), and Territorial waters. In order to better understand species’ habitat utilization patterns among management regimes, we deployed an array of hydroacoustic receivers and acoustically tagged reef fishes. A total of 150 fishes, representing 18 species and 10 families were acoustically tagged along the south shore of St. John. Thirty six receivers were deployed in shallow nearshore bays and across the shelf to depths of approximately 30m. Example results include the movement of lane snappers and blue striped grunts that demonstrated diel movement from reef habitats during daytime hours to offshore seagrass beds at night. The array comprised of both nearshore and cross shelf location of receivers provides information on fine to broad scale fish movement patterns across habitats and among management units to examine the strength of ecological connectivity between management areas and habitats.
2016
The area encompasses a diverse mosaic of interdependent habitats that are connected to each other through coastal currents and movements of reef biota (Friedlander et al., 2013a; Pittman et al., 2014a). Specifically, the Coral Bay region of the Monument includes a complex coastline with multiple smaller bays (e.g., Round Bay and Hurricane Hole which is comprised of Princess Bay, Borck Creek, Otter Creek, and Water Creek) and the most extensive mangrove habitat on St. John (Figure 1.1). The mangrove forests of this area provide habitat for many adult fish and invertebrates rarely found elsewhere, function as a nursery ground for many species that ultimately reside on coral reefs, harbor an unexpected diversity of corals, and may possess a unique range of chemical, shading, and thermal characteristics that offer corals a refuge from climate change (Boulon, 1992; Rogers, 2009; Friedlander et al., 2013b; Yates et al., 2014; Legare et al., 2015). The reefs and other habitats of the Coral Bay portion of VICRNM are home to a wide diversity of reef fish, corals, invertebrates, seagrass, and algal communities (Friedlander et al., 2013b; Costa et al., 2013). Humans use the area for recreation such as kayaking, snorkeling, mooring of boats, and also in times of hazardous weather as a refuge for boats, a practice which has given the Hurricane Hole portion of the area its name. Apart from permitted gathering of bait fish from the Hurricane Hole portion of VICRNM, all forms of extractive use as well as anchoring and tying to mangroves were prohibited with establishment of the Monument (Presidential Proclamation 7399). Despite the added protections of these ecosystems, reef fish populations have continued an overall decline (Rogers and Beets, 2001; Pittman et al., 2014b). The boundary of the VICRNM in Coral Bay is based on the Territorial Submerged Lands Act (1974) which transferred submerged areas within 3 n mi of the shore from federal to territorial control. Specifically, the Act states that "all submerged lands adjacent to property owned by the United States" were excluded from such transfer. In the case of the Coral Bay area, a search of land records placed the boundary separating federal versus territorial control along the midline of Hurricane Hole and Round Bay (Johnson and Thormahlen, 2002) (Figure 1.1). This federal ownership of submerged parts of Coral Bay made it possible to convert them to National Monument status as part of VICRNM. Therefore, although created to protect a marine ecosystem, ecology was never actually considered when the geographic boundaries were established (Devillers et al., 2015). The Proclamation (7399) further states that the boundaries are "the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected". This study investigates the movements of reef fish relative to the boundary of the Coral Bay portion of the Monument and its potential for reef fish protection. 1.2. Reef Fish In Coral Reef Ecosystems Many species of reef fish present in Coral Bay move among habitats during various phases of their life history. Many Lutjanidae (snappers) and other species are known to utilize seagrass and mangroves as juveniles but then shift to coral reefs once they grow larger (de la Moriniere et al., 2002; Christensen et al., 2003; Gratwicke et al., 2006; Huijbers et al., 2015). Several Lutjanidae and Haemulidae (grunts) species are known to reside at reefs and other structurally complex hard bottom habitats during the day but then undergo nightly foraging migrations of several hundred meters into adjacent sand and mud habitats (Ogden and Ehrlich,
Methods for assessment of short-term coral reef fish movements within an acoustic array
Movement Ecology, 2013
Background: Arrays of passive receivers are a widely used tool for tracking the movements of acoustically-tagged fish in marine ecosystems; however, the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of coral reef environments pose challenges for the interpretation of tag detection data. To improve this situation for reef fishes, we introduced a novel response variable method that treats signal detections as proportions (i.e., percent transmissions detected or "detection rates") and compared this against prior approaches to examine the influence of array and transmitter performance, signal distance and environmental factors on detection rates. We applied this method to tagged snappers and groupers in the Florida reef ecosystem and controlled range-tests on static targets in Bayboro Harbor, Florida, to provide methodological guidance for the planning and evaluation of passive array studies for coral reef fishes.
Accounting for detection gaps when evaluating reef fish habitat use in an acoustic array
Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 2017
Understanding the relationship between habitats and the distribution of fishes is critical to effective survey design and spatial management. Determining reef fish habitat utilization patterns from passive acoustic arrays is challenging for the following reasons: (i) habitat classifications must be meaningful to the species, (ii) the array must contain the species’ home range, and (iii) the probability of detection may differ among habitats within the array. We conducted a multi-year tracking study in the marine protected areas (MPAs) of Dry Tortugas, Florida, using a calibrated passive acoustic array deployed over habitats classified by type (reef, rubble, sand), rugosity (high, medium, low relief), and patchiness (contiguous, spur-and-groove, isolated). Our design controlled for differences between individuals, diel and edge effects, and detection gaps resulting from the nonlinear relationship between acoustic tag detection probabilities as a function of distance from the receiver...
Marine and Freshwater Research, 2015
Characterising the movement and habitat affinities of fish is a fundamental component in understanding the functioning of marine ecosystems. A comprehensive array of acoustic receivers was deployed at two near-shore coastal sites in south-eastern Australia, to examine the movements, activity-space size and residency of a temperate rocky-reef, herbivorous species Girella elevata. Twenty-four G. elevata individuals were internally tagged with pressure-sensing acoustic transmitters across these two arrays and monitored for up to 550 days. An existing network of coastal receivers was used to examine large-scale movement patterns. Individuals exhibited varying residency, but all had small activity-space sizes within the arrays. The species utilised shallow rocky-reef habitat, displaying unimodal or bimodal patterns in depth use. A positive correlation was observed between wind speed and the detection depth of fish, with fish being likely to move to deeper water to escape periods of adverse conditions. Detection frequency data, corrected using sentinel tags, generally illustrated diurnal behaviour. Patterns of habitat usage, residency and spatial utilisation highlighted the susceptibility of G. elevata to recreational fishing pressure. The results from the present study will further contribute to the spatial information required in the zoning of effective marine protected areas, and our understanding of temperate reef fish ecology.
Coral reefs and associated fish populations have experienced rapid decline in the Caribbean region and marine protected areas (MPAs) have been widely implemented to address this decline. The performance of no-take MPAs (i.e., marine reserves) for protecting and rebuilding fish populations is influenced by the movement of animals within and across their boundaries. Very little is known about Caribbean reef fish movements creating a critical knowledge gap that can impede effective MPA design, performance and evaluation. Using miniature implanted acoustic transmitters and a fixed acoustic receiver array, we address three key questions: How far can reef fish move? Does connectivity exist between adjacent MPAs? Does existing MPA size match the spatial scale of reef fish movements? We show that many reef fishes are capable of traveling far greater distances and in shorter duration than was previously known. Across the Puerto Rican Shelf, more than half of our 163 tagged fish (18 species of 10 families) moved distances greater than 1 km with three fish moving more than 10 km in a single day and a quarter spending time outside of MPAs. We provide direct evidence of ecological connectivity across a network of MPAs, including estimated movements of more than 40 km connecting a nearshore MPA with a shelfedge spawning aggregation. Most tagged fish showed high fidelity to MPAs, but also spent time outside MPAs, potentially contributing to spillover. Three-quarters of our fish were capable of traveling distances that would take them beyond the protection offered by at least 40-64% of the existing eastern Caribbean MPAs. We recommend that key species movement patterns be used to inform and evaluate MPA functionality and design, particularly size and shape. A re-scaling of our perception of Caribbean reef fish mobility and habitat use is imperative, with important implications for ecology and management effectiveness.
Spatial behavior of two coral reef fishes within a Caribbean marine protected area
A better understanding of the key ecological processes of marine organisms is fundamental to improving design and effective implementation of marine protected areas (MPAs) and marine biodiversity. The movement behavior of coral reef fish is a complex mechanism that is highly linked to species life-history traits, predation risk and food resources. We used passive acoustic telemetry to study monthly, daily and hourly movement patterns and space use in two species, Schoolmaster snapper (Lutjanus apodus) and Stoplight parrotfish (Sparisoma viride). We investigated the spatial overlap between the two species and compared intra-specific spatial overlap between day and night. Presence-absence models showed different diel presence and habitat use patterns between the two species. We constructed a spatial network of the movement patterns, which showed that for both species when fish were detected by the array of receivers most movements were made around the coral reef habitat while occasionally moving to silt habitats. Our results show that most individuals made predictable daily crepuscular migrations between different locations and habitat types, although individual behavioral changes were observed for some individuals across time. Our study also highlights the necessity to consider multiple species during MPA implementation and to take into account the specific biological and ecological traits of each species. The low number of fish detected within the receiver array, as well as the intraspecific variability observed in this study, highlight the need to compare results across species and individuals to be used for MPA management.