Habitat suitability for oil and gas platform-associated fishes in Louisiana’s nearshore waters

Munnelly, Ryan T.; Reeves, David B.; Chesney, Edward; Baltz, Donald M.; Marx, Brian D.

doi:10.3354/meps12772

Cited by 12 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 95 publications

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“…Sheepshead avoid low‐oxygen waters, but the lowest values reported in the surface layers where this study took place were well within the range of DO that Sheepshead are known to occupy (Reeves et al. 2018b; Munnelly et al, in press). The lowest DO saturation level at the depths of camera deployments (~75%) exceeded the 50% threshold where sublethal effects of DO depletion are thought to occur (Breitburg ; Munnelly et al, in press).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

“…2018b; Munnelly et al, in press). The lowest DO saturation level at the depths of camera deployments (~75%) exceeded the 50% threshold where sublethal effects of DO depletion are thought to occur (Breitburg ; Munnelly et al, in press). However, fish are known to enter low‐oxygen waters to forage even when unsuitable for long‐term residence (Pihl et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sheepshead Foraging Patterns at Oil and Gas Platforms in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

Reeves

Chesney

Munnelly

et al. 2018

N American J Fish Manag

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In the northern Gulf of Mexico, there are over 2,000 oil and gas platforms (hereafter, "platforms") that are de facto artificial reefs. The ecological importance of platforms is the subject of debate, but little information exists on the extent to which fish feed on platform-dwelling benthic organisms. We used a camera array to characterize the frequency and duration of incidents in which Sheepshead Archosargus probatocephalus foraged on platformdwelling benthic organisms. We also characterized abundances and distributions of select platform-dwelling benthic organisms (barnacles, blennies, and stone crabs). Sheepshead foraging was more strongly associated with dissolved oxygen (DO, mg/L; measured at each camera) and time to slack tide (high or low) than other biological (prey densities), physiochemical, locational, or temporal variables. The number of Sheepshead foraging incidents increased by 18.9 incidents·m −2 ·h −1 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 4.6-33.3) when DO increased by 1.0 mg/L; foraging incidents increased by 4.5 incidents·m −2 ·h −1 (95% CI = 1.6-7.4) when time to slack tide increased by 1.0 h. The time Sheepshead spent foraging increased by 245.4 s·m −2 ·h −1 ( 95% CI = 144.1-346.7) when DO increased by 1.0 mg/L, and time spent foraging increased by 78.0 s·m −2 ·h −1 (95% CI = 60.5-95.5) when time to slack tide increased by 1.0 h. Abundances of barnacles and blennies decreased with increasing depth. The presence of hypoxia near the seafloor during the late summer appeared to cause barnacle mortality, which shifted barnacle depth distributions upward (i.e., 1-3 m shallower). Platform-dwelling benthic organisms persisted throughout the hypoxia season and served as prey for Sheepshead.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sheepshead Foraging Patterns at Oil and Gas Platforms in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

Reeves

Chesney

Munnelly

et al. 2018

N American J Fish Manag

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“…These include the distribution of turbid water layers, temperature, salinity, DO concentration, primary productivity in the water column, and the extent to which platforms are exposed to Caribbean water masses (Gallaway and Lewbel ; Stanley and Wilson 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003; Munnelly et al. ). Further, the vertical distribution of fishes on platforms has been shown to be influenced by DO concentration (Stanley and Wilson ; Reeves et al.…”

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confidence: 99%

Environmental and Structural Drivers of Fish Distributions among Petroleum Platforms across the U.S. Gulf of Mexico

et al. 2020

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Petroleum platforms in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GOM) are important habitats for fishes and support regional fisheries. However, drivers of the horizontal (i.e., latitudinal and longitudinal) and vertical (i.e., position in the water column) distribution patterns of fishes associated with these artificial habitats are not fully understood on a GOMwide scale. To build upon previous studies on a large spatial scale and focus on species-specific drivers, we conducted 114 submersible rotating drop-camera and water quality sonde surveys at 54 platforms throughout the GOM. We then fitted two sets of binomial generalized additive mixed models integrating environmental and structural (i.e., characteristics of platforms) predictors to encounter/nonencounter data for 17 fish species so as to understand their horizontal and vertical distribution patterns throughout the GOM in platform habitat. Significant predictors for horizontal distribution included distance from shore (for Bermuda Chub Kyphosus saltatrix, Greater Amberjack Seriola dumerili, Vermilion Snapper Rhomboplites aurorubens), salinity (Bermuda Chub, Red Snapper Lutjanus campechanus), the number of platforms within 5 km (Blue Runner Caranx crysos, Crevalle Jack Caranx hippos), and dissolved oxygen concentration (Red Snapper). Significant predictors for vertical distribution included temperature

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“…While hypoxia is known to affect the depth distribution (Stanley and Wilson ; Reeves et al. ) and habitat suitability (Munnelly et al., ) for a number of fishes, little else is known about the consequences of hypoxia for reef‐associated organisms living on and around platforms.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Platforms in the hypoxic zone are known to support high abundances of stone crabs (Reeves et al 2017) and reef-associated fishes (Stanley and Wilson 2004;Reeves et al 2018c). While hypoxia is known to affect the depth distribution (Stanley and Wilson 2004;Reeves et al 2018c) and habitat suitability (Munnelly et al, 2019) for a number of fishes, little else is known about the consequences of hypoxia for reefassociated organisms living on and around platforms.…”

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confidence: 99%

Trophic Ecology of Sheepshead and Stone Crabs at Oil and Gas Platforms in the Northern Gulf of Mexico's Hypoxic Zone

et al. 2019

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Oil and gas platforms (platforms) may provide important habitat for reef‐associated organisms in the Gulf of Mexico's hypoxic zone. While summer hypoxia typically affects the bottom 3.0 m of the water column, platforms span from the bottom to above the surface and provide hard substrate in oxygenated waters overlaying hypoxia. However, little is known about the effects of hypoxia on organisms living at these platforms. We compared diets of Sheepshead Archosargus probatocephalus and Gulf stone crabs Menippe adina during early and late summer at platforms with mild (shoal platforms) and intense hypoxia (seaward platforms) using a combination of stable isotopes (δ13C and δ15N) and gut contents analyses. We hypothesized that diets at seaward platforms would shift from bottom to platform‐dwelling prey during late summer when hypoxia had fully developed and decimated benthic communities, but no such effect was found. Barnacles (Balanidae) were the most common prey found in Sheepshead guts for all samples collected (64.1% of gut contents). Sheepshead gut contents showed high predation of mantis shrimp (Squillidae; 35.2% of gut contents) soon after the formation of hypoxia at seaward platforms, likely reflecting Sheepshead exploiting benthic prey that were vulnerable because of hypoxia. These findings indicate that hypoxia affected the behavior of mantis shrimp in a way that altered their availability for Sheepshead associated with platforms. Comparisons of Sheepshead and stone crab isotope values (δ13C and δ15N) to those of their potential prey and basal sources suggested a high dependence on barnacles (proxy for water column particulate organic matter) and filamentous algae throughout the summer. However, comparisons of isotope values in early and late summer indicated no apparent effect of hypoxia. High contributions of barnacles to Sheepshead diet showed that platform‐dwelling prey were an important resource for Sheepshead.

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Habitat suitability for oil and gas platform-associated fishes in Louisiana’s nearshore waters

Cited by 12 publications

References 95 publications

Sheepshead Foraging Patterns at Oil and Gas Platforms in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

Sheepshead Foraging Patterns at Oil and Gas Platforms in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

Environmental and Structural Drivers of Fish Distributions among Petroleum Platforms across the U.S. Gulf of Mexico

Trophic Ecology of Sheepshead and Stone Crabs at Oil and Gas Platforms in the Northern Gulf of Mexico's Hypoxic Zone

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