Monitoring programs of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico: inventory, development and use of a large monitoring database to map fish and invertebrate spatial distributions

Grüss, Arnaud; Perryman, Holly A.; Babcock, Elizabeth A.; Sagarese, Skyler R.; Thorson, James T.; Ainsworth, Cameron H.; Anderson, Evan J.; Brennan, Kenneth; Campbell, Matthew D.; Christman, Mary C.; Cross, Scott; Drexler, Michael; Drymon, J. Marcus; Gardner, C. L.; Hanisko, David S.; Hendon, Jill M.; Koenig, Christopher C.; Love, Matthew S.; Martinez‐Andrade, Fernando; Morris, Jack; Noble, Brandi T.; Nuttall, Matthew; Osborne, Jason A.; Pattengill-Semmens, Christy V.; Pollack, Adam G.; Sutton, Tracey; Switzer, Theodore S.

doi:10.1007/s11160-018-9525-2

Cited by 25 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…There are many advantages of using camera surveys to gather distributional information for reef fishes, chief among them being the ability to collect data at different depths (Koenig and Stallings ; Grüss et al. 2018b). However, camera monitoring programs are often limited in the number of data points and periods sampled when compared with other GOM monitoring programs, such as vertical line monitoring programs around platforms (Rester ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

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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Section: Discussionmentioning

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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“…Without dietary information, changes in predator–prey interactions and food web dynamics can go undetected, resulting in poor management decisions due to erroneous assumptions (Kemper et al ., ). Despite the clear need for dietary data, studies describing these interactions are often lacking (Bizzarro et al ., ; Grüss et al ., ). The most common method used to interpret a species' diet is stomach‐content analysis, a straightforward means for obtaining a snapshot of the prey an individual has recently consumed (Hyslop, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Discerning the dietary habits of the smooth butterfly ray Gymnura lessae using two distinct methods, otolith identification and metagenetics

Jargowsky

Cooper

Ajemian

et al. 2019

Journal of Fish Biology

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Two different methods, metagenetics and free-otolith identification, were used to identify prey in the stomach contents of 531 Gymnura lessae captured by trawling in Mobile Bay, Alabama 2016-2018. Both methods were found to produce analogous results and were therefore combined into a single complete dataset. All prey were teleosts; the families Sciaenidae and Engraulidae were the most important prey (prey specie index of relative importance 89.3% I PSRI ). Multivariate analyses indicated that the diet of G. lessae varied with sex and seasonality. Specifically, variability was probably due to morphologically larger females consuming larger teleost prey species compared with males, whereas seasonal variability was probably due to changes in the available prey community composition. The findings indicate that both metagenetics and free otolith identification, used independently or complementarily, offer robust means of characterising dietary habits for teleost-specialised species such as G. lessae, which may play an important role in the structure and maintenance of coastal food webs such as those in Mobile Bay. How to cite this article: Jargowsky MB, Cooper PT, Ajemian MJ, Colvin ME, Drymon JM. Discerning the dietary habits of the smooth butterfly ray Gymnura lessae using two distinct methods, otolith identification and metagenetics. J Fish Biol. 2020;96:434-443. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.

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“…In the case of the U.S. GOM, the use of monitoring data collected by state agencies at fixed sampling stations (along with some modifications in our statistical models) would also enable one to generate predictions for coastal species (e.g. red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus ; black drum, Pogonias chromis ) that would be unattainable otherwise (Grüss, Perryman, et al, ). Moreover, it is important to note that the spawner hotspots predicted by our approach are not necessarily spawning areas, but could include pre‐spawning areas that could be used for resting, feeding or courtship (Nemeth, ), or adult normal residence areas that are still populated during the spawning season by mature individuals skipping spawning (Rideout & Tomkiewicz, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…black drum, Pogonias chromis) that would be unattainable otherwise (Grüss, Perryman, et al, 2018). Moreover, it is important to note that the spawner hotspots predicted by our approach are not necessarily spawning areas, but could include pre-spawning areas that could be used for resting, feeding or courtship (Nemeth, 2012), or adult normal residence areas that are still populated during the spawning season by mature individuals skipping spawning (Rideout & Tomkiewicz, 2011).…”

Section: Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Protecting juveniles, spawners or both: A practical statistical modelling approach for the design of marine protected areas

Grüss

Biggs

Heyman³

et al. 2019

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Fish populations undertaking ontogenetic or spawning migrations pose challenges to marine protected area (MPA) planning because of the large extent of their distribution areas. There is a need to identify the juvenile and spawner hotspots of these populations that could be set aside as MPAs. Species distribution models making comprehensive use of available monitoring data and predicting the realized juvenile and spawner hotspots of migratory fish populations will assist resource managers with MPA planning. We developed a statistical modelling approach relying on multiple, regional monitoring datasets for assisting spatial protection efforts targeting the juveniles, spawners, or both life stages, of migratory fish species and species complexes. This approach predicts juvenile and spawner hotspot indices, and critical life stage (CLS) hotspot indices, which integrate both juvenile and spawner hotspot indices. We applied the approach to 11 vulnerable species of the grouper–snapper complex of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, which all form fish spawning aggregations (FSAs). The CLS hotspot index was predicted to be highest in the Pulley Ridge and Flower Garden Banks areas, followed by the West Florida Shelf, southwestern Florida waters and portions of the Louisiana‐Mississippi‐Alabama shelf. The Pulley Ridge Habitat Area of Particular Concern and Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary are two important existing MPAs of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, whose possible expansion is being considered. The predicted CLS hotspot indices suggest that expanding these MPAs or increasing harvest regulations within them would offer substantial protection to both the juveniles and spawners of many FSA‐forming species of the grouper–snapper complex. Synthesis and applications. As the number of marine protected areas (MPAs) continues to increase worldwide, statistical modelling approaches making comprehensive use of available data are urgently needed to support resource managers’ abilities to establish sound and efficient spatial protection plans. The outputs of our statistical models can serve as inputs to conservation planning software packages seeking optimal marine protected areas configurations or can be directly employed by resource managers for formulating spatial protection plans.

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Monitoring programs of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico: inventory, development and use of a large monitoring database to map fish and invertebrate spatial distributions

Cited by 25 publications

References 56 publications

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

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

Discerning the dietary habits of the smooth butterfly ray Gymnura lessae using two distinct methods, otolith identification and metagenetics

Protecting juveniles, spawners or both: A practical statistical modelling approach for the design of marine protected areas

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