2010

The Redcheek Paradox: the mismatch between genetic and phenotypic divergence

the mismatch between genetic and phenotypic divergence among deeply divided mtDNA lineages in a coral-reef goby, with the description of two new cryptic species from the Caribbean Sea

Victor, B.C.

Long-time REEF supporters, Les and Keri Wilk of ReefNet, recently discovered and photographed a distinctively marked population of the Greenbanded Goby, Elacatinus multifasciatus, on the island of Utila, Honduras. The population was distinguished by a prominent red stripe across the cheek that is not found on other populations of Greenbanded Gobies, as well as more numerous green bars on the body. The Wilks contacted Dr. Ben Victor, a reef fish taxonomic expert, who conducted a regional genetic comparison of Greenbanded Gobies to evaluate hidden diversity within this colorful and cryptic reef fish. As part of the study, the REEF database was used to document the current geographic range of the species. Ben's results identified the unique looking fish to be a separate species that is now called the Redcheek Goby (E. rubrigenis). He also discovered that, based on genetic results, Greenbanded Goby along coastal Panama, despite looking just like others in the species, are most likely a distinct species that will now be called Panamanian Greenbanded Goby (E. panamensis)

Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation
Vol 3, 15 April 2010
2010
Program: 
Volunteer Fish Survey Project
http://www.oceansciencefoundation.org/josf/josf3web1.pdf

2009

Fishery-Independent Data Reveal Negative Effect of Human Population Density on Caribbean Predatory Fish Communities

Stallings, C

Understanding the current status of predatory fish communities, and the effects fishing has on them, is vitally important information for management. However, data are often insufficient at region-wide scales to assess the effects of extraction in coral reef ecosystems of developing nations. The author overcomes this difficulty by using REEF's large database from the Volunteer Survey Project, which is a publicly accessible, fisheries-independent database. The aim of the study was to provide a broad scale, comprehensive analysis of human impacts on predatory reef fish communities across the greater Caribbean region. Specifically, this study analyzed presence and diversity of predatory reef fishes over a gradient of human population density. Across the region, as human population density increases, presence of large-bodied fishes declines, and fish communities become dominated by a few smaller-bodied species. The analysis found a complete disappearance of several large-bodied fishes, which indicates ecological and local extinctions have occurred in some densely populated areas. These findings fill a fundamentally important gap in our knowledge of the ecosystem effects of artisanal fisheries in developing nations, and provide support for multiple approaches to data collection where they are commonly unavailable.

PLoS One
4(5): e5333
2009
Program: 
Volunteer Fish Survey Project

Feeding ecology of invasive lionfish (Pterois volitans) in the Bahamian archipelago

Morris JA and JL Akins

In this early paper, staff from REEF and NOAA studied feeding ecology of the invasive lionfish (Pterois volitans). The authors collected stomach content data from fishes taken throughout the Bahamian archipelago. Three relative metrics of prey quantity, including percent number, percent frequency, and percent volume, were used to compare three indices of dietary importance. Lionfish largely prey upon teleosts (78% volume) and crustaceans (14% volume). Twenty-one families and 41 species of teleosts were represented in the diet of lionfish; the top 10 families of dietary importance were Gobiidae, Labridae, Gram- matidae, Apogonidae, Pomacentridae, Serranidae, Blenniidae, Atherinidae, Mullidae, and Monacanthi- dae. The proportional importance of crustaceans in the diet was inversely related to size with the largest lionfish preying almost exclusively on teleosts. Lion- fish were found to be diurnal feeders with the highest predation occurring in the morning (08:00–11:00).

Journal of Environmental Biology of Fishes
86(3): 389-398
2009
Program: 
Invasive Species Program
Online PDF

Foraging behaviour and prey consumption in the Indo-Pacific lionfish on Bahamian coral reefs

Green SJ, JL Akins, and IM Côté

Predicting and mitigating the effects of invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish Pterois volitans on Caribbean fish communities requires a thorough understanding of the species’ predation behaviour in the invaded range, including the types and amounts of prey consumed and how foraging patterns vary in relation to extrinsic conditions. We studied the activity levels and prey consumption rates of lionfish on 12 shallow coral reefs in the Bahamas in relation to time of day and prey availability. Lionfish predation rates and activity levels were significantly higher during crepuscular (dawn and dusk) periods than at mid-day. Available prey fish biomass was highest at dawn but lower at mid-day and dusk, suggesting that lionfish predation activity is not limited by prey availability alone. Our calculated average daily mass-specific prey consumption rates, which incorporated daily variation, was ~3 times the estimates obtained from studies of captive lionfish in their native range and of invasive lionfish observed only during the day. Our results will help to predict more accurately the effect of predation by invasive lionfish on native reef fish communities.

Marine Ecology Progress Series
433:150-167
2009
Program: 
Invasive Species Program

Mitochondrial control region sequence analyses indicate dispersal from the US East Coast as source of invasive Indo-Pac Lionfish

Freshwater, D.W., A. Hines, S. Parham, A. Wilbur, M. Sabaoun, J. Woodhead, L. Akins, B. Purdy, P.E. Whitfield, and C.B. Paris

This paper examined the genetic source of the invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish in the Bahamas. Many of the samples used in this study were collected during REEF's lionfish research trips during 2007 and 2008. Two species, Pterois volitans and P. miles, were well established along the United States east coast before the first lionfish were reported from the Bahamas in 2004, where they quickly dispersed throughout the archipelago by 2007. The source of the Bahamian lionfish invasion has been in question because of the hypothesized low connectivity between Florida and Bahamas reef species as well as the temporal lag in their arrival in the Bahamas. The results showed no significant differentiation between the Bahamas and North Carolina specimens. Sequence analyses also revealed the presence of only Pterois volitans in the Bahamas, with no P. miles detected in any of the specimens. These results indicate that the source of the Bahamian lionfish is egg and larval dispersal from the United States east coast population, and support previous models of reef fish dispersal that suggest a low level of connectivity between the Bahamas and east coast of Florida.

Marine Biology
28 February 2009
2009
Program: 
Invasive Species Program

Population density, demographics, and predation effects of adult goliath grouper

Koenig CC and FC Coleman

This report summarizes several years of work on Goliath Grouper to provide an understanding of adult ecology and behavior so that the population could be managed sustainably. REEF data were used to provide information on distribution patterns throughout the southeatern US and regional densities in Florida. The authors found high concordance between their quantitative reef survey data and the categorical abundance data collected by REEF volunteers, thus reducing uncertainty about use of REEF's population data for future stock assessments.

MARFIN Project (NA05NMF4540045) NOAA/NMFS Final Report
79 pp
2009
Program: 
Volunteer Fish Survey Project
Download PDF

Preliminary Scientific Conclusions of the Review of the Status of 5 Species of Rockfish

Biological Review Team NWFSC

This was a predecision document prepared by NOAA’s Fisheries Service to evaluate the population status of five species of rockfish in the Puget Sound. REEF data were one of several datasets that were used by the fisheries scientists to make the evaluation. Based on the analyses, NOAA Fisheries proposed to list three populations of rockfish in Puget Sound and the Strait of Georgia for protection under the Endangered Species Act. The Georgia Basin populations of two of the rockfish species – canary and yelloweye – are proposed for “threatened” status. A third rockfish species – bocaccio – is proposed as “endangered.” Populations of all three rockfish species in the Georgia Basin, which encompasses Puget Sound and the Strait of Georgia, have been harvested at high levels, depleting their numbers. Rockfish, which are bottom dwellers, typically live long lives, and mature and reproduce slowly, making them especially vulnerable to overfishing. A final decision on the three will be made in the Spring 2010.

22 April 2009
2009
Program: 
Volunteer Fish Survey Project

2008

The Challenge of Managing Nearshore Rocky Reef Resources

Gunderson, DR, AM Parm, R Hilborn, JM Cope, DL Fluharty, ML Miller, RD Vetterd, SS Heppell & HG Greene

This paper is the result of a workshop held at University of Washington in 2008 on nearshore rocky reefs. REEF Director of Science, Dr. Christy Pattengill-Semmens, presented data collected by REEF surveyors in the Pacific Northwest, and some details from that talk are in this paper. Nearshore temperate reefs are highly diverse and productive habitats that provide structure and shelter for a wide variety of fishes and invertebrates. Recreational and commercial fisheries depend on nearshore reefs, which also provide opportunities for non-extractive recreational activities such as diving. Many inhabitants of nearshore temperate reefs on the west coast of North America have very limited home ranges as adults, and recent genetic evidence indicates that the dispersion of the larval stages is often restricted to tens of kilometers. Management of temperate reef resources must be organized on very small spatial scales in order to be effective, offering unique technical challenges in terms of assessment and monitoring. New enabling legislation could assist in specifying mandates and adjusting institutional design to allow stakeholders and concerned citizens to formulate management policies at local levels, and to aid in implementing and enforcing these policies.

Fisheries
Volume 33, Issue 4
2008
Program: 
Volunteer Fish Survey Project

2007

A new species of Halichoeres (Teleostei: Labridae) from the western Gulf of Mexico

Weaver, Douglas C. and Luiz A. Rocha

This publication describes a new (to science) species of coral reef wrasse found by REEF surveyors at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS). This species was nicknamed the "Mardi Gras wrasse" by sanctuary staff due to the bright purple, yellow and green coloration of the terminal male phase. The fish was originally discovered at the East Flower Garden Bank by members of a REEF survey team in 1997, and has been periodically observed (primarily at Stetson Bank) since that time. Subsequent investigation by Doug Weaver and sanctuary staff confirmed that it was in fact a previously undescribed species of wrasse. The scientific name of the species is Halichoeres burekae, in honor of FGBNMS photographers Frank and Joyce Burek, who obtained the first photograph of the fish. The Mardi Gras wrasse has also since been reported from the Veracruz region of Mexico.

Copeia
2007(4): 798-807
2007
Program: 
Volunteer Fish Survey Project
Abstract

Charting a Course for Nassau Grouper Recovery in the Caribbean: what we've learned and what we still need to know

Semmens BX, PG Bush, S Heppell, B Johnson, C McCoy, CV Pattengil-Semmens, and L Whaylen

Nassau Grouper (Epinephelus striatus) were historically one of the most important shallow water fisheries in the Caribbean, yet now are rarely taken. Although normally solitary, during the winter full moon Nassau grouper attend aggregations at spawning site to reproduce. Now, however, there are only a handful of known Nassau Grouper aggregations with more than 1,000 fish left in the Caribbean. Why has the species declined so precipitously, and what can be done to reverse the trend? These topics were explored during a presentation given by Grouper Moon researchers at the 2007 Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute conference. The researchers presented recent and on-going research into the behavior and ecology of Nassau Grouper as part of the Grouper Moon Project, and highlight the conservation implications of this work. They also discussed critical research needs in the ongoing effort to identify prudent conservation measures for this species, including:

i) Habitat capacity – work to link Nassau grouper abundance/distributions with key habitat charac- teristics,

ii) Depensation – investigate spawning behaviors in places where spawning aggregations have been fished to exhaustion, and

iii) Recruitment variability – conduct genetic and otolith analyses to gain a better handle on relatedness of spawning stocks and the periodicity of recruitment pulses.

60th Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute (GCFI) Proceedings
2007
Program: 
Grouper Moon Project

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