A Pilot Study of Hogfish (Lachnolaimus Maximus Walbaum 1792) Movement in the Conch Reef Research Only Area (Northern Florida Keys)
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Marine Sanctuaries Conservation Series NMSP-06-06 A Pilot Study of Hogfish (Lachnolaimus maximus Walbaum 1792) Movement in the Conch Reef Research Only Area (Northern Florida Keys) U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Ocean Service Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management National Marine Sanctuary Program August 2006 About the Marine Sanctuaries Conservation Series The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Ocean Service (NOS) administers the National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP). Its mission is to identify, designate, protect and manage the ecological, recreational, research, educational, historical, and aesthetic resources and qualities of nationally significant coastal and marine areas. The existing marine sanctuaries differ widely in their natural and historical resources and include nearshore and open ocean areas ranging in size from less than one to over 5,000 square miles. Protected habitats include rocky coasts, kelp forests, coral reefs, sea grass beds, estuarine habitats, hard and soft bottom habitats, segments of whale migration routes, and shipwrecks. Because of considerable differences in settings, resources, and threats, each marine sanctuary has a tailored management plan. Conservation, education, research, monitoring and enforcement programs vary accordingly. The integration of these programs is fundamental to marine protected area management. The Marine Sanctuaries Conservation Series reflects and supports this integration by providing a forum for publication and discussion of the complex issues currently facing the National Marine Sanctuary Program. Topics of published reports vary substantially and may include descriptions of educational programs, discussions on resource management issues, and results of scientific research and monitoring projects. The series facilitates integration of natural sciences, socioeconomic and cultural sciences, education, and policy development to accomplish the diverse needs of NOAA’s resource protection mandate. A Pilot Study of Hogfish (Lachnolaimus maximus Walbaum 1792) Movement in the Conch Reef Research Only Area (Northern Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary) James Lindholm1,2, Ashley Knight2, Les Kaufman3 and Steven Miller4 1) Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary 2) Corresponding Author’s Present Affiliation: Pfleger Institute of Environmental Research 3) Boston University Marine Program 4) National Undersea Research Center at the University of North Carolina U.S. Department of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez, Secretary National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration VADM Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr. (USN-ret.) Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere National Ocean Service John H. Dunnigan, Assistant Administrator Silver Spring, Maryland National Marine Sanctuary Program August 2006 Daniel J. Basta, Director DISCLAIMER Report content does not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the National Marine Sanctuary Program or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, nor does the mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. REPORT AVAILABILITY Electronic copies of this report may be downloaded from the National Marine Sanctuary Program web site at www.sanctuaries.nos.noaa.gov. Hard copies may be available from the following address: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Sanctuary Program SSMC4, N/ORM62 1305 East-West Highway Silver Spring, MD 20910 COVER A tagged hogfish forages on the coral rubble adjacent to the Aquarius Undersea Habitat. Photo Credit: Rick Riera-Gomez, RSMAS/University of Miami SUGGESTED CITATION Lindholm, J., A. Knight, L. Kaufman, and S. Miller. 2006. A pilot study of hogfish (Lachnolaimus maximus Walbaum 1792) movement at the Conch Reef Research Only Area (northern Florida Keys). National Marine Sanctuary Program NMSP-06-06. U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Sanctuary Program, Silver Spring, MD. 14 pp. CONTACT James Lindholm, Ph.D. Senior Research Biologist Pfleger Institute of Environmental Research (PIER) 901-B Pier View Way Oceanside, CA 92054 Phone: (760) 721-1441 Email: [email protected] ABSTRACT The largely sedentary behavior of many fishes on coral reefs is well established. Information on the movement behavior of individual fish, over fine temporal and spatial scales, however, continues to be limited. It is precisely this type of information that is critical for evaluating the success of marine reserves designed for the conservation and/or management of vagile fishes. In this pilot study we surgically-tagged eight hogfish (Lachnolaimus maximus Walbaum 1792) with coded-acoustic transmitters inside the Conch Reef Research Only Area (a no-take marine reserve) in the northern Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Our primary objective was to characterize the movement of L. maximus across Conch Reef in the vicinity of the reserve. All fish were captured, surgically-tagged and released in situ during a saturation mission to the Aquarius Undersea Laboratory, which is located in the center of the reserve. Movement of tagged L. maximus was recorded for up to 95 days by three acoustic receivers deployed on the seafloor. Results showed clear diel patterns in L. maximus activity and regular movement among the receivers was recorded for seven of the eight tagged fish. Fidelity of tagged fish to the area of release was high when calculated at the scale of days, while within-day fidelity was comparatively low when calculated at the scale of hours. While the number of fish departures from the array also varied, the majority of departures for seven of the eight fish did not exceed 1-hr (with the exception of one 47-day departure), suggesting that when departures occurred, the fish did not travel far. Future efforts will significantly expand the number of receivers at Conch Reef such that fish movement behavior relative to the reserve boundaries can be quantified with increased temporal and spatial resolution. KEY WORDS Hogfish, Lachnolaimus maximus, acoustic telemetry, fish movement patterns, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary i TABLE OF CONTENTS Topic Page Abstract................................................................................................................... i Table of Contents.................................................................................................... ii List of Figures......................................................................................................... iii Introduction............................................................................................................. 1 Methods................................................................................................................... 2 Results..................................................................................................................... 3 Discussion............................................................................................................... 9 Acknowledgements................................................................................................. 11 Literature Cited ....................................................................................................... 11 ii LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figure/Table Number and Title Page Figure 1 Map of Study Area in the Northern FKNMS.......................................................... 2 Table 1 Summary data for acoustically-tagged L. maximus ................................................ 4 Figure 2 Recorded Time At-Liberty for Tagged L. maximus................................................ 4 Figure 3 Diel patterns in the detections of Tagged L. maximus............................................ 6 Table 2 Detections for tagged L. maximus at each receiver................................................. 8 Table 3 Frequency of consecutive 1-hr time bins in which no receivers recorded signals from tagged L. maximus during daylight hours................................................... 8 iii INTRODUCTION Hogfish (Labridae: Lachnolaimus maximus Walbaum 1792) are dichromatic, protogynous hermaphrodites (Colin 1982; McBride et al. 2001). They are found in subtropical and tropical waters from South Carolina to Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico, in between three to 30 m water depth (Lieske and Meyers1999). L. maximus are opportunistic, non-specific predators on a wide variety of benthic invertebrates (Randall and Warmke 1967; Davis 1976), and are common in low-relief hard-bottom, seagrass and patch reef habitats. Though information on the early life history of L. maximus is limited (Colin 1982), observations suggest there may be an ontogenetic shift in habitat from coastal embayments and seagrass beds as juveniles to coral reefs and low-relief hard-bottom habitats as adults (see Davis 1976; Ault et al. 2003). L. maximus are highly esteemed food fish (Randall and Warmke 1967), and are actively sought in the Florida Keys (McBride et al. 2001). Little is known about the fine-scale movement patterns of individual L. maximus within the geographical range in which they occur (Tupper and Rudd 2002). However, it is precisely this information that will be vital for the conservation and management of this exploited species, particularly where spatial management measures are under consideration. For example, in 1997 a total of 23 no-take reserves were zoned and designated in the Florida