Second Annual Symposium for Coastal and Marine Applied Research University of Puerto Rico Sea Grant College Program October 5, 2006, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico

Mona Island Reef Community Structure and Function for Marine Protected Area (MPA) Design Distribution of schooling snappers and grunts

Michelle T. Schärer, Dept. of Marine Science, University of Puerto Rico

H. Ruiz Marine Protected Areas

• Function as a control area – ecological processes • Goal of an MPA – proposed objectives • Criteria for designing zones: – biological ( and habitat ) – governance – cultural – socioeconomic – compliance • Educated guesswork • Compromises

10/4/2006 Sea Grant-UPRM 2 Bosque Insular (22 de diciembre de 1919), Reserva Natural Isla de Mona y Monito (4 de junio de 1986), Extensión Marina (30 de octubre de 1997)

Total MPA Area = 157,575 ha

Mona Island Area = 5,602 ha

Monito Island Area = 14 ha

Marine Area = 151,958 ha

Insular Platform Mona = 8,156 ha

Submerged Insular Platform = 2,591 ha 10/4/2006 Sea Grant-UPRM 3 Reglamento de Pesca # 6768 (11 de Febrero de 2004)

10/4/2006 Sea Grant-UPRM 4 Research Needs

• MPA design and evaluating management effectiveness require: – Ecological data – Where are species and habitats distributed (spatial variability)? – Which habitat characteristics affect species distributions? – What habitats are necessary for species to complete their life cycle (Ontogeny)? – How are habitats connected to each other based on species distributions and migrations? 10/4/2006 Sea Grant-UPRM 5 Objectives

• Describe the community • Elucidate how habitat structure reef fish community • Determine differences in the abundance of reef by: – Habitat – Habitat patch size – Habitat Connectivity (distance from nursery habitats) • Identify habitats critical for the completion of ontogenetic migrations • Provide a spatially explicit baseline for monitoring marine reserve effectiveness 10/4/2006 Sea Grant-UPRM 6 Methodology

• Benthic Habitat Surveys •Fish Visual Surveys – 15 m video transect – 30 X 2 m belt transect – 5 depth measurements – estimated fork length – habitat type classification –ID to species H. Ruiz H. Ruiz 10/4/2006 Sea Grant-UPRM 7 Methodology

• Invert abundance – Diadema antillarum – Panulirus argus

– Strombus gigas H. Ruiz H. Ruiz

10/4/2006 Sea Grant-UPRM 8 Reef Fish Community Schooling species –Poorly represented in surveys –Abundances underestimated • Species Richness (159) Causes poorly understood • Grunts (9) & Snappers (7) •Risk aversion • Ontogenetic migrations reported •Diel patterns for many grunts and snappers •Socializing • Juveniles restricted to nursery •Reproduction habitats (shallow water habitats)

10/4/2006 Sea Grant-UPRM 9 10/4/2006 Sea Grant-UPRM 10 Family (Grunts) throughout Mona Island Natural Reserve (7% of all fish) Randall parra

Marsden H. macrocerus A. virginicus H.plumieri H. sciurus A. surinamensis Floeter H. parra H. flavolineatum H. chrysargyreum H. carbonarium

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 Randall Total Number (N=613) Haemulon carbonarium

10/4/2006 Sea Grant-UPRM 11 Family (Snappers) throughout Mona Island Natural Reserve (2% of all fish) Ruiz Ruiz

Lutjanus griseus Lutjanus analis

L. cyanopterus

L. jocu Ruiz

Ocyurus chrysurus L. analis

L. griseus

O. chrysurus Ruiz L. apodus Lutjanus apodus L. mahogoni

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 Total Number (N=613) Randall

Lutjanus mahogoni

10/4/2006 Sea Grant-UPRM 12 Haemulidae juveniles Lutjanidae juveniles (FL < 100 mm) (FL < 100 mm)

250 Seagrass & Rubble 70 Seagrass & Patches Spur & Groove Seagrass Seagrass & Rubble 60 200 Rubble Seagrass & Patches Patch Reef Seagrass Coral 50 Patch Reef Bedrock 150 Coral 40 Bedrock

30 100

20

50 10

0 0 LM AH LAPO OCHR LJOC HCAR HCHR HFLA HPAR HPLU HSPP

10/4/2006 Sea Grant-UPRM 13 Habitat types for juveniles (FL <50 mm)

Haemulon carbonarium Haemulon flavolineatum Haemulon parra

30 1.6 18

1.4 16 25 1.2 14

20 1.0 12

0.8 10 15 0.6 8

10 0.4 6 0.2 4 HFLA HPAR HCAR 5 0.0 2

-0.2 0 0 -0.4 -2

-5 -0.6 -4

-0.8 -6 -10 -1.0 -8 Mean Mean Mean -15 Mean±SD -1.2 Mean±SD -10 Mean±SD Bedrock Coral SG_P SG_R Bedrock Coral SG_P SG_R Bedrock Coral SG_P SG_R Mean±1.96*SD Mean±1.96*SD Mean±1.96*SD Habitat Habitat Habitat

Lutjanus mahogoni Lutjanus apodus 4 3.0

2.5 3 2.0

2 1.5

1.0 1

0.5 LMAH LAPO 0 0.0

-1 -0.5

-1.0 -2 -1.5

Mean Mean -3 Mean±SD -2.0 Bedrock Coral SG_P SG_R Mean±SD Mean±1.96*SD Bedrock Coral SG_P SG_R Mean±1.96*SD Habitat Habitat

10/4/2006 Sea Grant-UPRM 14 58 out of 283 (20%) points sampled had schools of grunts (H.carbonarium, H. flavolineatum, H. parra) and/or snappers (L. apodus, L. mahogoni) (n>5) present

10/4/2006 Sea Grant-UPRM 15 Species composition in schools

L. mahogoni, 608

L. apodus, 719 H. carbonarium, 2038

H. parra, 552

H. chrysargyreum, 28 H. flavolineatum, 693

10/4/2006 Sea Grant-UPRM 16 Randall Haemulon carbonarium

Haemulon carbonarium 30

25

20

15

10

HCAR 5

0

-5

-10

Mean -15 Mean±SD Bedrock Coral SG_P SG_R Mean±1.96*SD Habitat

10/4/2006 Sea Grant-UPRM 17 Marsden

Haemulon flavolineatum

Haemulon flavolineatum

1.6

1.4

1.2

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2 HFLA 0.0

-0.2

-0.4

-0.6

-0.8

-1.0 Mean -1.2 Mean±SD Bedrock Coral SG_P SG_R Mean±1.96*SD Habitat

10/4/2006 Sea Grant-UPRM 18 Randall Haemulon parra

Haemulon parra 18

16

14

12

10

8

6

4 HPAR 2

0

-2

-4

-6

-8 Mean -10 Mean±SD Bedrock Coral SG_P SG_R Mean±1.96*SD Habitat

10/4/2006 Sea Grant-UPRM 19 Ruiz

Lutjanus apodus

Lutjanus apodus

3.0

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5 LAPO

0.0

-0.5

-1.0

-1.5

Mean -2.0 Mean±SD Bedrock Coral SG_P SG_R Mean±1.96*SD Habitat

10/4/2006 Sea Grant-UPRM 20 Randall

Lutjanus mahogoni

Lutjanus mahogoni

4

3

2

1 LMAH 0

-1

-2

Mean -3 Mean±SD Bedrock Coral SG_P SG_R Mean±1.96*SD Habitat

10/4/2006 Sea Grant-UPRM 21 Presence of schools by habitat types

0.4

Absent (224) Present (59) Total (283)

0.3

0.2 Relative Proportion Relative

0.1

0 Spur & Groove Col. Pavement Col. Pavement Linear Reef Col. Bedrock Patch Reef Uncol. Scattered Coral w. Sand Pavement Rock

10/4/2006 Sea Grant-UPRM 22 Habitat Variables

• Area of available habitat • Habitat patch size (perimeter/area ratio) • Distance from shore (shallow water habitats) • Area of adjacent habitat (foraging habitats) • Habitat types favored by schools of adult grunts and snappers –Linear Reef – Patch Reef – Col. Bedrock – Spur & Groove

10/4/2006 Sea Grant-UPRM 23 10/4/2006 Sea Grant-UPRM 24