THE ARTIFICIAL REEF EFFECT OF WORLD WAR II ERA SHIPWRECKS IN THE NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO by Nicole Marie Brown Morris B.S., Jacksonville State University, 2003 A thesis submitted to the Department of Biology College of Arts and Sciences The University of West Florida In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science 2007 The thesis of Nicole Marie Brown Morris is approved: Philip C. Darby, Ph.D., Committee Member Date Richard A. Snyder, Ph.D., Committee Member Date William F. Patterson, III, Ph.D., Committee Chair Date Accepted for the Department: George L. Stewart, Ph.D., Chair Date Accepted for the College: Jane S. Halonen, Ph.D., Dean Date Accepted for the University: Richard S. Podemski, Ph.D., Dean of Graduate Studies Date ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP), Minerals Management Service (MMS), and NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration (OE) for providing funding for this project. I would also like to thank C & C Technologies, Inc. (C & C), Droycon Bioconcepts, Inc. (DBI), University of Alabama (UA), University of Alaska, Fairbanks (UAF), the PAST Foundation, Montana State University (MSU), and Texas A & M-Corpus Christi for assistance during the multidisciplinary study. I also acknowledge the crew of the HOS (Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc.) Dominator and operators of the SonSub Triton XL ROV. I wish to thank my advisor, Dr. William F. Patterson, III, for his continued support, guidance, and encouragement throughout my graduate studies. I appreciate all the knowledge and time he dedicated to my education in fisheries ecology. Thank you to my committee members, Dr. Philip Darby and Dr. Richard Snyder, for their knowledge and suggestions. I also would like to thank to Beverly Barnett, Robert Allman, Laura Goetz, and Sarah Jeffers for help with otolith preparation and ageing. Thank you to the Center for Environmental Diagnostics and Bioremediation (CEDB) for providing space in the Wetlands Research Laboratory for stable isotope preparation. Lastly, I would like to thank the entire University of West Florida Biology Department for overall support. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...........................................................................................iii LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................viii ABSTRACT................................................................................................................. xi INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1 A. Background on Reef Habitats ............................................. 3 B. Approaches for Studying Artificial Reefs........................... 8 1. Estimating Fish Community Structure from Video ..... 8 2. Dietary and Stable Isotope Analysis .......................... 11 3. Age Estimation of Deepsea Fishes ............................. 15 C. Objectives.......................................................................... 17 D. Hypotheses........................................................................ 18 CHAPTER I. METHOD................................................................................ 20 A. Sampling ........................................................................... 20 B. Fish Community Structure ................................................ 26 C. Statistical Analysis of Fish Community Structure............ 27 D. Diet Analysis..................................................................... 31 E. Stable Isotope Analysis..................................................... 32 F. Age Estimation.................................................................. 33 CHAPTER II. RESULTS ............................................................................... 35 A. Shipwreck Sites................................................................. 35 B. Environmental Parameters ................................................ 35 C. Video and Fish Sampling.................................................. 37 D. Fish Community Structure ................................................ 40 1. Virginia ......................................................................43 2. Halo ............................................................................45 3. Gulfpenn .....................................................................48 iv 4. U166 ...........................................................................50 5. Robert E. Lee ............................................................. 51 6. Alcoa Puritan ..............................................................53 7. Cold Seep ...................................................................54 8. Fish Measurement ......................................................54 E. Diet and Trophic Structure................................................ 55 1. Virginia ......................................................................56 2. Halo ............................................................................58 3. Gulfpenn .....................................................................62 4. U166, Robert E. Lee, Alcoa Puritan, and Cold Seep ...................................................................65 F. Otolith Ageing................................................................... 68 1. Virginia ......................................................................69 2. Halo ............................................................................70 3. Gulfpenn .....................................................................72 4. U166, Robert E. Lee, Alcoa Puritan, and Cold Seep ...................................................................75 CHAPTER III. DISCUSSION ......................................................................... 78 A. Fish Community Structure ................................................ 78 B. Diet and Trophic Structure................................................ 85 C. Age.................................................................................... 88 D. Artificial Reef Effect of Deep Shipwrecks ....................... 90 REFERENCES............................................................................................................ 92 APPENDIXES .......................................................................................................... 101 A. Tables.............................................................................. 102 B. Animal Care and Use Committee Form.......................... 135 C. Copyright Permission Letter ........................................... 137 v LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. International Atomic Energy Agency Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) for δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S...................................................................................... 33 2. Data and Sampling Methods for Shipwreck Sites and a Cold Seep Site Including Number Of Visits, Dates, Depth (m), and Sampling Conducted. ...... 36 3. Mean Environmental Parameters (Depth, Temperature, Salinity, Density, and Dissolved Oxygen) Measured Approximately Five to 20 m Above Shipwreck Sites and a Cold Seep Site ................................................................ 37 4. Total Video Time Analyzed for Presence of Fishes from Video Collected with the ROV During Visits to Shipwreck Sites during Biological and Archeological Sampling. .................................................................................... 39 5. Results of First and Second Analysis of International Atomic Energy Agency Standard Reference Materials for δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S........................ 56 A1. Data from Transects Flown by the ROV to Document the Fish Community Over, Adjacent to, And 300 m from Shipwreck Sites. REL = Robert E. Lee and AP = Alcoa Puritan ................................................................................... 103 A2. Data from Chevron (Large) and Baitfish (Small) Fish Traps Deployed Adjacent (Wreck) to and 300 m from (Distant) Shipwreck Sites and at a Cold Seep Site ............................................................................................... 105 A3. Order, Family, Genus, Species, and Common Names and Wrecks Present for Fish Taxa Identified from Video and Captured in Fish Traps and ROV Suction Sampler. VI = Virginia, HA = Halo, GP = Gulfpenn, U = U166, REL = Robert E. Lee, AP = Alcoa Puritan, and CS = Cold Seep.................... 107 A4. Mean Abundance and Density Estimates for Fish Taxa Identified from Video Collected with the Rov during Biological Sampling Over, Adjacent to, and 300 m Away from Shipwreck Sites. Rel = Robert E. Lee and AP = Alcoa Puritan .......................................................................................... 112 vi A5. Abundance of Fish Taxa Identified from Video Collected at Shipwreck Sites and a Cold Seep Site during Sampling Other Than Biological Transects. ......................................................................................................... 115 A6. Fish Taxa Caught in Chevron (Large) and Baitfish (Small) Fish Traps Deployed Adjacent to (Wreck) and 300 m Away from (Distant) Shipwreck Sites and a Cold Seep Site................................................................................ 123 A7. Fishes Caught with the ROV Suction Sampler during Biological Sampling at Shipwreck