Abstract
BackgroundApplication of Social Network Analysis (SNA) to acoustic telemetry is a useful approach to examine social behavior in fish. Atlantic Sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) are ancient, long-lived anadromous finfish. Although Atlantic Sturgeon have been the subject of numerous telemetry studies, none have used SNA to analyze their co-occurrence behavior. During 2010–2014 Atlantic Sturgeon (n = 103) that were later genetically identified as being from the Saint John River, Canada and the Kennebec River, US were captured by otter trawl and brush weir in Minas Basin, Bay of Fundy, Canada, and acoustically tagged. Using data from moored acoustic receivers within foraging habitat in Minas Basin, we tested if Atlantic Sturgeon formed social associations that were random or structured during 2012 to 2014; and whether these co-occurrences consisted of individuals from the same river of origin or capture date.ResultsIrrespective of genetic origin and initial capture date, Atlantic Sturgeon formed co-occurrences in Minas Basin that were significantly different than would be observed by chance during 2012 and very close to significant during 2013. Analysis demonstrated that some Atlantic Sturgeon preferentially co-occur within their primary feeding habitat.ConclusionsThe current threats to Atlantic Sturgeon aggregations within the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, include bycatch in fisheries throughout their coastal migration routes and more recently the development of tidal turbines along their migratory corridor to their summer aggregation site. It is important to determine if Atlantic Sturgeon form aggregations with conspecifics from the same population to inform management decisions regarding threats to groups of individuals. This study indicated that Atlantic Sturgeon may form preferential co-occurrences within their feeding aggregation and co-occurrences that were identified were not dependent upon population of origin or initial capture date.
Highlights
Application of Social Network Analysis (SNA) to acoustic telemetry is a useful approach to examine social behavior in fish
Atlantic Sturgeon were detected within Minas Basin (MB) from May to October but detections peaked during May and July (Fig. 1)
The mean (± SD) number of days that Atlantic Sturgeon were detected within MB during 2012–2014 ranged between 5.9 ± 5.8 (2014) and 14.6 ± 10.8 (2012; Table 1)
Summary
Application of Social Network Analysis (SNA) to acoustic telemetry is a useful approach to examine social behavior in fish. Atlantic Sturgeon have been the subject of numerous telemetry studies, none have used SNA to analyze their co-occurrence behavior. During 2010–2014 Atlantic Sturgeon (n = 103) that were later genetically identified as being from the Saint John River, Canada and the Kennebec River, US were captured by otter trawl and brush weir in Minas Basin, Bay of Fundy, Canada, and acoustically tagged. Using data from moored acoustic receivers within foraging habitat in Minas Basin, we tested if Atlantic Sturgeon formed social associations that were random or structured during 2012 to 2014; and whether these co-occurrences consisted of individuals from the same river of origin or capture date. Aggregations form when individuals from the same species utilize critical habitat including feeding, spawning and overwintering sites [2, 3]. When individuals are passively sharing time and space and do not display a preference for whom they associate with this is referred to as an aggregation [5]
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