Movement patterns and site utilization of fishes as determined by acoustic telemetry: implications for the design of marine reserves

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Marine reserves (MRs), also known as no-take reserves, represent one of the primary tools for conservation and management of the marine environment currently available to managers. While the theoretical justification for MRs is extensive, and mounting evidence demonstrates the effectiveness of MRs as a management tool, empirical data on the utility of MRs for mobile taxa such as fishes is still needed. Information on the movement of individual fish relative to landscape features, in both tropical and temperate seas, is critical for the design of successful MRs. A number of studies have demonstrated that many fish species exhibit statistically significant but facultative associations at various life history stages with specific microtopographic structures (=microhabitats) in low topography environments. Less is known, however, about the movement patterns and site utilization of individual fish relative to these features of the landscape. Whether the goal of an MR is the protection of the diversity of fishes overall or the management of particular exploited fish populations, the siting and design of MRs will be improved by data on the movement of fishes of different species relative to landscape features and patterns. Results are presented for two on-going telemetry studies in the western North Atlantic: Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS) in the Gulf of Maine and in the northern Florida Keys. At SBNMS, site utilization by Atlantic cod (Gadus morhud) in gravel habitat and piled boulder reefs was quantified throughout the summers of 2001 and 2002. At the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS), acoustic receivers were first deployed on the seafloor at five sites extending across Pickles, Conch and Davis reefs in November 2001.