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Movement patterns of gray triggerfish, Balistes capriscus , around artificial reefs in the northern Gulf of Mexico
Author(s) -
Herbig J. L.,
Szedlmayer S. T.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
fisheries management and ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1365-2400
pISSN - 0969-997X
DOI - 10.1111/fme.12190
Subject(s) - reef , fishery , geography , habitat , population , biology , ecology , sociology , demography
Little is known about the movement patterns of gray triggerfish, Balistes capriscus Gmelin, in the northern Gulf of Mexico. To examine fine‐scale movements, gray triggerfish ( n = 17) were tagged with transmitters and tracked with the VR 2W Positioning System from 17 October 2012 to 9 December 2013. Most (76%) tagged fish survived and were tracked for 1–57 weeks. Tagged fish showed significantly larger home ranges and core areas in autumn than winter–spring and during day than night. Seasonal movement patterns were positively correlated with water temperature. Gray triggerfish stayed close to the reef (mean ± SD distance = 35.9 ± 28.4 m) and showed high site fidelity (64%) and high residency (>57 weeks). These patterns emphasise the importance of structured habitat for this species and suggest that artificial reef building in the northern Gulf of Mexico has enhanced this population.