Examining movement patterns of yellowtail snapper, Ocyurus chrysurus, in the Dry Tortugas, Florida
Yellowtail snapper, Ocyurus chrysurus (Bloch, 1970), is an important fisheries species in the Florida Keys. In 2008–2009, yellowtail snapper were tagged with acoustic transmitters and tracked through an array of 86 stationary receivers in the Dry Tortugas' network of marine
reserves in Florida to determine site fidelity, home range, and temporal patterns of habitat use. Fifteen yellowtail snapper were tracked for 1–427 d [x = 188 (SE 39)]. A multistep method for data validation ensured that only the fish with high-quality detection data were selected
for data analyses. Brownian bridge models were used to estimate home range rather than more traditional methods because they incorporate not only detection location, but also time between detections, the path between successive detections, and location error. For a species typically described
as transient, six of the tagged yellowtail snapper had high site fidelity [x = 58.4% (SE 8.4%)], and Brownian bridge models estimated relatively small minimum home ranges [x = 5.45 km2 (SE 1.79)]. Movements were highly variable, but analyses showed that fish displayed
diel and seasonal trends, and in general, were more likely to be absent during summer months or during dusk and at night. Tagged yellowtail snapper showed a preference for reef edge habitat, swimming in and out of the marine reserve where the boundary intersected this type of habitat. The
knowledge that yellowtail snapper is less transient than previously believed and understanding the habitat preference and temporal movements of this species can help with its future management.
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: 1: South Florida Regional Laboratory, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 2796 Overseas Highway, Suite 119, Marathon, Florida 33050;, Email: [email protected] 2: South Florida Regional Laboratory, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 2796 Overseas Highway, Suite 119, Marathon, Florida 33050
Publication date: 01 January 2019
This article was made available online on 08 August 2018 as a Fast Track article with title: "Examining movement patterns of yellowtail snapper, Ocyurus chrysurus, in the Dry Tortugas, Florida".
- The Bulletin of Marine Science is dedicated to the dissemination of high quality research from the world's oceans. All aspects of marine science are treated by the Bulletin of Marine Science, including papers in marine biology, biological oceanography, fisheries, marine affairs, applied marine physics, marine geology and geophysics, marine and atmospheric chemistry, and meteorology and physical oceanography.
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