Diel habitat-use patterns of commercially important fishes in a marine protected area in the Philippines

Abstract

The diel habitat-use patterns of commercially important fishes in a small marine protected area (MPA) (0.31 km 2 ) containing coral reef and seagrass habitats were examined by passive acoustic telemetry during 2011 and 2012. The occurrence patterns of the target fishes both inside and outside the MPA were also observed. Thirty individuals from 6 species (20.2 to 41.4 cm fork length) were caught, acoustically tagged and released inside the MPA, and 4 to 210 d of tracking data were then obtained from 28 detected fishes. Lutjanus monostigma, Lethrinus atkinsoni, and Lethrinus obsoletus were found to mostly inhabit the coral reef. The remaining 3 species (Lutjanus argentimaculatus, Lethrinus harak, and Siganus guttatus) utilized both coral and seagrass habitats but showed different patterns: Lutjanus argentimaculatus visited seagrass only at night; Lethrinus harak occurred in the coral reef more at night than in the day, showing the opposite pattern in seagrass; and S. guttatus exhibited the converse pattern to L. harak. More than one-third of the tracked individuals moved inside and outside the MPA more than once per day on average during the tracking period. However, 95.4% of detections were recorded by acoustic receivers deployed inside the MPA. Underwater visual surveys revealed that the densities of some target fishes were significantly higher inside than outside the MPA. These findings suggest that the MPA protects the core of fish home ranges.

Beyond the reef: The widespread use of non‐reef habitats by coral reef fishes

“…Several species of haemulids in the Caribbean have been documented making twilight feeding incursions away from reefs into seagrass beds to feed (see reviews by Appeldoorn et al, ; Krumme, ) but there is little evidence that this behaviour is replicated by haemulids in the Indo‐Pacific. Indeed, there is limited empirical data generally for the Indo‐Pacific on this topic (but see Honda et al, ), although studies demonstrating tidal (Unsworth, Bell, et al, ) and diel (e.g. Unsworth, Wylie, Smith, & Bell, ) changes to fish communities on reefs and in non‐reef habitats indicate potential for regular feeding movements.…”

“…One of the most frequently cited explanations for the use of non‐reef habitats by coral reef fishes is that non‐reef habitats, such as seagrass beds and mangroves, can be used as nursery habitat for juvenile coral reef fishes (Beck et al, ; Dahlgren et al, ; Nagelkerken, ; Nagelkerken et al, ; Sheaves, Baker, Nagelkerken, & Connolly, ). In addition, some coral reef fishes undertake tidal, diel, monthly, seasonal and/or yearly movements between coral reef and non‐reef habitats to forage, shelter from predators and/or spawn (Appeldoorn et al, ; Hitt, Pittman, & Nemeth, ; Honda et al, ; Taylor & Mills, ; Unsworth, Bell, & Smith, ). Availability of, or access to, non‐reef habitats may therefore be important for many coral reef fish species.…”

Marine protected area restricts demographic connectivity: Dissimilarity in a marine environment can function as a biological barrier

“…Potential predators such as snapper ( Lutjanus argentimaculatus , L. decussatus , L. fulviflamma , and L. fulvus ) were significantly more abundant on coral reefs in the MPA than in the two fishing zones between March 2011 and September 2012 (K. Honda, unpublished data). The core home ranges of such predators, including snapper and emperor fish, were mostly restricted to areas within the MPA (Honda et al., ). The densities of Saurida gracilis (lizardfish) and Myripristis sp.…”

Length-weight relationship and condition factors of Rabbitfish (<i>Siganus guttatus</i>, Bloch 1787) in Sei Carang Waters, Tanjungpinang City, Indonesia

“…Penyebutan nama ikan tersebut berdasarkan morfologi ikan baronang (S. guttatus) yang memiliki tompel berwarna orange atau kuning (Susilo et al, 2009;Yan et al, 2016). Ikan baronang memiliki luasan habitat yang besar (Young and Dueñas, 1993;Susilo et al, 2009;Honda et al, 2016), sehingga ikan baronang dapat berpindah ke lingkungan yang berbeda-beda (Harahap et al, 2001;Iwamoto et al, 2012;Amin and Kamal, 2016). Umumnya dapat ditemukan di perairan pantai sekitar ekosistem terumbu karang yang memiliki banyak tumbuhan laut serta ekosistem lamun (sea grass) (Kordi, 2005;Aziz et al, 2006;Honda et al, 2013;Fendi et al, 2020;Parawansa et al, 2020).…”