Dealing with temporal variation and different life stages of whitemouth croaker Micropogonias furnieri (Actinopterygii, Sciaenidae) in species distribution modeling to improve essential estuarine fish habitat identification

Abstract

Understanding the habitat usage of a species is essential to assessing the impacts of human activities, conservation efforts, and management issues on that species. Whitemouth croaker, an important species in the artisanal fishery market, inhabits different habitats of the Patos Lagoon estuary year-round based on the stage of its life cycle. Our aim was to test the hypothesis that habitat preferences and changes in abundance during the life cycle influence the model outcomes in the study of species distribution. Additionally, we evaluated whether incorporating additional life stages within the model affected the outcome of what comprised the essential fish habitat. Our results showed that the model's outcome was affected when temporal variability and additional life stages were considered. We suggest that variability in abundance and habitat preferences at different developmental stages must be considered when identifying essential fish habitat of species with complex life cycles, such as whitemouth croaker. Understanding these changes could improve conservation and management outcomes.

Impacts of climate change on the global potential distribution of two notorious invasive crayfishes

“…Model performance was assessed by two metrics: the true skill statistics (TSS) and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Algorithms with TSS over 0.85 and AUC over 0.90 for both species were selected to develop committee averaging ensemble models (Costa, Muelbert, Vieira, & Castello, 2015;Thuiller et al, 2014). Committee averaging is simply the average of binary predictions from the distinct algorithms; this procedure has the advantage of indicating both the suitability of conditions and the level of agreement among predictions of distinct algorithms.…”

Archaeological and modern whitemouth croaker fish (Micropogonias furnieri) of southeastern Brazil: A geochemical proxy for environmental preference

“…Such movements in the early (post-core) part of the life cycle may be associated with the reproductive process when aggregates of the species are reported in the marine coastal zone (Castello, 1986; Cavole and Haimovici, 2015; da Costa and Araújo, 2003; Vazzoler, 1991). The greater salinity stability of marine areas may also minimize the energy output related to osmoregulation, thereby allocating more energy for reproduction and returning to estuarine habitats to eat or rest (Costa et al, 2015; Guedes et al, 2015; Jaureguizar et al, 2003, 2008).…”

How Far Upstream: A Review of Estuary-Fresh Water Fish Movements in a Large Neotropical Basin

“…Size at sexual maturity is in the range of 18-20 cm (Castello, 1986), with a spring-summer migration to reproduce in saline waters (Muelbert and Weiss, 1991). Costa et al (2015) modeled the spatial and temporal distribution patterns of the species in the estuarine area of the Patos Lagoon. Maps of the presumed distribution were presented for different size classes and season of the year.…”

“…The anadromous migration pattern could be more complex, with possible partial migration. Movement from coastal waters to the estuary for spawning is well established (Muelbert and Weiss, 1991), but the seasonal estuarine pattern proposed by Costa et al (2015) is more complex than described, as the species could spread far beyond into fresh waters. A general pattern of higher winter abundance in northern fresh waters prior to a spring spawning in the estuary suggests a more-complex migration pattern.…”