First record of vertical movements of the totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi) as evidenced by pop-up satellite tags in the Upper Gulf of California

Abstract

The description of the movements and habitat preference of marine fishes is essential to understand their biology and in the evaluation of commercially exploited species and the conservation of endangered ones. In this regard, little is known about the movements of the totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi), despite its being listed as critically endangered and having been a relevant fishery resource in the past century in Mexico. Totoaba is a fish species endemic to the Gulf of California characterized by late maturation, prolonged life and annual reproduction. Totoaba has maintained its known historical distribution range, although its movements and habitat occupancy in the water column have remained poorly understood. The present study describes, for the first time and at a daily fine scale, the vertical movements and habitat preferences of the totoaba in the Upper Gulf of California. Pop-up satellite archival tags (PSATs) were used to record depth and temperature at 4-minute intervals. Ten individuals were caught and tagged in May 2016 in the Upper Gulf of California and Colorado River Delta Biosphere Reserve. All PSATs were either prematurely released or lost. Data derived from two recovered tags that saved data for 43 and 75 tracking days, respectively, were analysed. The results showed that tagged fishes moved southward to the vicinity of Angel de la Guarda Island; these are consistent with spatial displacement patterns reported in the literature, with a linear displacement of 223 km from deployment to pop-up sites. Fish spent 47% of the time within a depth range of 25–35 m. Depth increased to 70 m for one fish in early summer (late June). The preferred temperature of fishes ranged between 21–23°C. A generalized linear model revealed that vertical movement was influenced by temperature. The vertical displacement of the totoaba shows a diurnal variation that may be associated with the distribution of its prey. Further work is needed to test this hypothesis with a larger number of organisms.

Depth and temperature preferences of meagre, Argyrosomus regius, as revealed by satellite telemetry

“…Numerous fish species are known to partake in DVM in response to prey behaviour, usually towards the surface at night and deeper during the day. This has been identified in at least two other sciaenid species; Totoaba macdonaldi [30] and Atractoscion nobilis [31]. In this study, a similar behaviour was observed but only during the months of September and October for fish #3, #8, #18 and #20, and during July for fish #20, which may suggest that this is related to foraging, as was the case with T. macdonaldi [30].…”

“…This has been identified in at least two other sciaenid species; Totoaba macdonaldi [30] and Atractoscion nobilis [31]. In this study, a similar behaviour was observed but only during the months of September and October for fish #3, #8, #18 and #20, and during July for fish #20, which may suggest that this is related to foraging, as was the case with T. macdonaldi [30]. Results regarding the summer months were mostly based on a single fish (# 20).…”

“…To our knowledge no studies have investigated the vertical habitat use patterns of adult A. regius however some studies have been conducted on the species' congeners Argyrosomus coronus [28] and Argyrosomus japonicus [29], using fisheries independent techniques. Studies have also been conducted on similar large, bodied sciaenids, such as Totoaba macdonaldi [30] and Atractoscion nobilis [31]. The results of these previous studies on closely related species revealed that A. japonicus and A. coronus partake in seasonal onshore/offshore movements while T. macdonaldi and A. nobilis display rhythmic vertical diel movements.…”

Nutritional content ofTotoaba macdonaldi(Gilbert, 1890), Antioxidants and lipid peroxidation in muscle

“…Totoaba were found in the estuarine habitat (spawning grounds; De Anda-Montañez et al., 2013 ) in winter and spring, in the coastal and rocky habitats (feeding areas; De Anda-Montañez et al., 2013 ) in autumn, but were not found in any of the sampled sites in summer. In summer, when sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of California can be over 28 °C, totoaba migrate to deeper (∼70 m) colder (∼21 °C) zones ( Hernández-Tlapale et al, 2020 ) being, thus, inaccessible to fishing gear. Fishes were caught with an empirical gill net (built following the knowledge and experience of the fishermen) of approximately 120 m long, 4 m wide (depth) and 10″mesh opening, as well as with individual fishing rods with number 5 hook.…”