Abstract
Storm events are a significant source of disturbance in the Middle Atlantic Bight, in the Northwest Atlantic, that cause rapid destratification of the water column during the late summer and early fall. Storm-driven mixing can be considered as a seasonal disturbance regime to demersal communities, characterized by the recurrence of large changes in bottom water temperatures. Black sea bass are a model ubiquitous demersal species in the Middle Atlantic Bight, as their predominantly sedentary behavior makes them ideal for tagging studies while also regularly exposing them to summer storm disturbances and the physiological stresses associated with thermal destratification. To better understand the responsiveness of black sea bass to storm impacts, we coupled biotelemetry with a high-resolution Finite Volume Community Ocean Model (FVCOM). During the summers of 2016-2018, 8-15 black sea bass were released each year with acoustic transponders at three reef sites, which were surrounded by data-logging receivers. Data were analyzed for activity levels and reef departures of black sea bass, and fluctuations in temperature, current velocity, and turbulent kinetic energy. Movement rates were depressed with each consecutive passing storm, and late-season storms were associated with permanent evacuations by a subset of tagged fish. Serial increases in bottom temperature associated with repeated storm events were identified as the primary depressor of local movement. Storm-driven increases in turbulent kinetic energy and current velocity had comparatively smaller, albeit significant, effects. Black sea bass represents both an important fishery resource and an indicator species for the impact of offshore wind development in the United States. Their availability to fisheries surveys and sensitivity to wind turbine impacts will be biased during periods of high storm activity, which is likely to increase with regional climate change.
Highlights
Storm disturbance is a key structuring force in coastal marine ecosystems, affecting population and community dynamics, as well as the habitats upon which they depend [1, 2]
This study was approved by University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) (Protocol Number F-CBL16-10), under UMCES IACUC Chair Dr Christopher L
Six storm events varying in timing (July-September), duration (33–87 hr), and intensity occurred between the observed June-October study period of 2016–2018 (Table 3)
Summary
Storm disturbance is a key structuring force in coastal marine ecosystems, affecting population and community dynamics, as well as the habitats upon which they depend [1, 2]. A small but growing pool of research has emerged emphasizing the role of storms as singular, extreme disturbances driving changes in movement behaviors by marine fishes. Hurricane disturbance on reef communities has driven decreased movement and tighter coupling of fish to structured habitat [11,12,13]. There is a critical gap in the literature regarding the potential of repeated storm events to serve as a natural, recurring disturbance regime, driving acute shifts in marine habitat conditions and incurring subsequent behavioral changes in habitat use and movement patterns from the affected fish communities
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