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Age and Growth of Bonefish, Albula Species Among Cuban

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Age and Growth of Bonefish, Albula Species Among Cuban AGE AND GROWTH OF BONEFISH, ALBULA SPECIES AMONG CUBAN HABITATS by JACOB JOSEPH RENNERT B.S., University of North Carolina Wilmington A thesis submitted to the Department of Biological Sciences of Florida Institute of Technology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE Melbourne, Florida November 2017 AGE AND GROWTH OF BONEFISH, ALBULA SPECIES AMONG CUBAN HABITATS A THESIS By JACOB JOSEPH RENNERT Approved as to style and content by: Jonathan Shenker, Ph.D., Chairperson Aaron Adams, Ph.D., Member Associate Professor Senior Scientist Department of Biological Sciences Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute-FAU Ralph Turingan, Ph.D., Member Jorge Angulo Valdes, Ph.D., Member Professor Professor Department of Biological Sciences University of Florida John Trefry, Ph.D., Member Richard Aronson, Ph.D. Professor Professor and Head Ocean Engineering and Sciences Department of Biological Sciences November 2017 ABSTRACT AGE AND GROWTH OF BONEFISH, ALBULA SPECIES AMONG CUBAN HABITATS By Jacob Joseph Rennert, B.S., University of North Carolina Wilmington Chairperson of Advisory Committee: Jonathan Shenker, Ph.D. Bonefish (Albula spp.) are a prized sportfish among avid anglers worldwide. Two morphologically indistinguishable species of bonefish (Albula vulpes and Albula goreensis) exist in the circumtropical waters of the western Atlantic. A. vulpes grows faster and reaches larger sizes in the Florida Keys than in the Bahamas and other insular regions, but the mechanisms driving this variation have not been identified. Cuba supports large populations of bonefish, but their age, growth rate, and reproductive biology has not previously been examined. I obtained specimens from fish markets and local research staff in 3 regions around the periphery of Cuba from November 2016 to January 2017. Sagittal otoliths and fin clips were collected from each fish, and sex was determined by visual examination of gonads. Fin clips were sent to the Genetics Laboratory at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute for identification. Otoliths were aged by embedding, iii sectioning, and examining thin sections. A total of 218 bonefish were sampled, with a size range of 187-530mm FL. Genetic testing indicated that 134 were A. vulpes, 59 were A. goreensis, and 7 were hybrids. The oldest fish collected were 8 and 9 years old for A. vulpes and A. goreensis respectively. Both species of bonefish displayed gonadal development indicating the preparation to spawn in the month of November 2016. Growth of A. vulpes was rapid until the age of 5 years then slowed, with females reaching larger sizes than males. The fewer specimens for A. goreensis prevented calculation of sex-specific growth curves. Predicted fork length at age values were greater at all ages for A. vulpes compared to A. goreensis. All bonefish collected above the size of 231mm FL with exception of one fish were found to be reproductively mature. Bonefish were observed to be reproductively mature at the age of 1 year, much smaller and younger than observed in previous studies. The insight of varying growth patterns between A. vulpes and cryptic species allows for better management of the species, and further distinguishes differences in the biology of A. vulpes and A. goreensis. iv DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this to my family, who has had my back since I was a young student and pushed me to become the scientist I am today. To the many incredible people of Cuba who treated me as if I were family and were willing to give so much when they have so little. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my academic advisor Jon Shenker for guiding me through this master’s program and giving me the freedom to develop into an independent scientist. Dr. Liz Wallace and Ben Kurth, staff members of the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC), who completed all of the lab work and analyses that were necessary to genetically identify each bonefish. Robby Fidler taught me everything surrounding the sectioning of otoliths, in addition to anything that involved growth analyses in R. Jessica Carroll and Kristin Cook staff members of FWC in the Age and Growth Laboratory, helped me understand the art of reading otoliths and completed the 2nd and 3rd reads for aging. Dr. William Szelistowski and Dr. Corey Krediet professors at Eckerd College assisted in the organization of the second collection trip to Cuba. All of the students from the 2017 winter term field research assisted in the processing of bonefish obtained in January. This project would not have been possible without the incredible collaborators in Cuba. Dr. Jorge Angulo assisted in much of the project logistics. He sat down with me many times to brainstorm collection sites, logistics of the trip including flights, hotels, additional contacts in Cuba, and much more. Lazaro (Lachy) Garcia and Eddy Garcia helped organize everything once we arrived in Cuba. They were instrumental in adapting to the challenges of working in Cuba and coming up with new plans daily in order to obtain all the fish we did. Eddy and vi Lachy both helped obtain and process fish throughout this entire study. My dad Bruce Rennert joined me on the first collection trip. He helped with much of the data labeling and gave sound advice on how to become a better leader and project manager. Leo and Zai Espinosa collected and helped process bonefish from the San Felipe region. Alexei Ruiz collected and processed bonefish from the Zapata Swamp. Zenaida Marinez helped organize and plan many logistical aspects of the second collection trip. I would like to thank my remaining committee members Dr. Aaron Adams, Dr. Ralph Turingan, and Dr. John Trefry for guidance with my project, providing me with many instrumental connections, and challenging me as a scientist throughout this program. The Bonefish and Tarpon Trust provided me with many contacts in Cuba and helped open the dialogue between US and Cuban researchers. Florida Sea Grant and the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation provided me with the funds to complete this study. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT . iii DEDICATION . v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . vi TABLE OF CONTENTS . viii LIST OF FIGURES . x LIST OF TABLES . xi INTRODUCTION . 1 MATERIALS AND METHODS . 8 SITE SELECTION . 8 SAMPLING METHOD . 10 OTOLITH PROCESSING . 11 DATA ANALYSIS . 13 RESULTS . 14 SPECIES ABUNDANCE, DISTRIBUTION, AND SEX RATIO. 14 BONEFISH SIZE DISTRIBUTION. 16 BONEFISH SEX DISTRIBUTION AND GONADAL DEVELOPMENT. 20 BONEFISH AGE DISTRIBUTION. 20 BONEFISH AGE AND GROWTH CURVES. 23 DISCUSSION . 28 viii LITERATURE CITED . 40 ix LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1. Sampling regions for bonefish collected in Cuba from November 2016-2017. (A): Northcentral coast (B): Zapata Swamp (C): San Felipe Island chain. 9 Figure 2. Micrograph of a transverse section from an 8-year-old (350mm) bonefish, Albula goreensis viewed with transmitted light source. 12 Figure 3. Detailed map of the fishing village locations of Playa Nazabal and Juan Francisco. 15 Figure 4. Length frequency distribution of A. vulpes collected in Cuba 2016- 2017 male n=87 and female n=30 . 18 Figure 5. Length frequency distribution of A. goreensis collected in Cuba 2016-2017 male n=12 and female n=42. 19 Figure 6. Age frequency distribution of Albula vulpes collected in Cuba 2016- 2017 Male: n=87, Female: n=30. 21 Figure 7. Age frequency distribution of Albula goreensis collected in Cuba 2016-2017 Male: n=12, Female: n=42. 22 Figure 8. Observed FL at age and von Bertalanffy growth curve for A. vulpes males and females. 25 Figure 9. Observed length at age and von Bertalanffy growth curve for A. goreensis collected in Cuba 2016-2017. L= Length, t=age in years. 26 Figure 10. Predicted FL at age of A. vulpes and A. goreensis calculated from VB growth equations. 27 Figure 11. Von Bertalanffy growth curves calculated for A. vulpes populations in the Florida Keys, the Bahamas and Caribbean, and Cuba. (Crabtree et al. 1996, Adams et al. 2008) . 31 Figure 12. Predicted biphasic growth curve for bonefish in FL Keys developed by Larkin (2011). 35 x LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1. Summary of number of Albula spp. obtained from each sampling region in Cuba collected from 2016-2017. 16 Table 2. Summary of sample size, age range, and size range for all species of bonefish collected in Cuba from 2016-2017 . 17 Table 3. Summary of current study and past publications von Bertalanffy growth parameters for Albula spp. L∞= estimated maximum fork length (mm), K= growth coefficient, (mm), and n= number of fish collected. 38 xi 1 INTRODUCTION Bonefish (Albulidae) are a mesopredator that inhabit varying types of shallow tropical and subtropical habitats, including but not limited to sand flats, mangrove-lined channels, and seagrass habitats worldwide. Initially considered to be a single circumtropical species, genetic analysis indicates that the Albulidae family consists of 11 species that have a remarkably consistent phenotype that is apparently constrained by the evolutionary selection pressure exerted within the shallow habitats (Colborn et al. 2001; Wallace and Tringali 2016). Of the 4 species of Albulidae in the western Atlantic Albula vulpes is the dominant target of many anglers and is considered a treasured sportfish. A. vulpes, and other members of the genus are listed under the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as Near Threatened with a downward trend in populations (Adams et al. 2012); careful management practices and a better understanding of their biology is paramount to the successful conservation of this fishery (Adams and Cooke 2015). As a measure of the value of their recreational fishery, Albula vulpes accounted for more than 17% of targeted angling days for south Florida, where they contributed to over 47 million dollars in salaries, wages, and business owner income in 2009 (Fedler 2009).
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