Gray Snapper Lutjanus griseus is an economically and ecologically important species in the estuarine and coastal environments of the southeastern United States. Previous research has focused primarily on juvenile Gray Snapper due to their accessible inshore distribution and ecological importance, while adults, which often occur offshore and are the main focus of fishing pressure, remain poorly understood. Seven years of baited underwater video data (2011–2017; N = 8,379 videos; ~14,000 h of video) were collected along the continental shelf between North Carolina and Florida (~100,000 km²) to better understand the ways in which the relative abundance of Gray Snapper varied by space, time, habitats, and environmental conditions. Adult Gray Snapper were observed on 6.9% of the videos overall, but they were much more commonly observed in Florida (16.9% of the videos) compared with the states that are north of Florida (1.4% of the videos). We used delta‐generalized additive models to determine that adult Gray Snapper primarily occurred in high‐relief hardbottom sites south of St. Augustine, Florida, in warm water less than 50 m deep, after accounting for imperfect detection on video. Temporal variability was relatively minor despite relatively high precision (the mean annual coefficient of variation = 24%). Fifteen large aggregations of Gray Snapper (i.e., >20 individuals counted on a single frame) were observed on video, but it is unclear whether these aggregations indicated potential spawning aggregation sites. This work provides greater insight into the ecology of Gray Snapper during their important coastal‐ocean adult life stage, which will improve their management and conservation.

中文翻译：

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在美国东南沿海成年灰鲷的相对丰度和栖息地利用的空间格局

灰鲷Lutjanus griseus是在美国东南部的河口和沿海环境中具有重要经济和生态意义的物种。以前的研究由于其在近海的分布和生态重要性而主要集中在少年ju鱼上，而成年鱼通常在近海发生，是捕捞压力的主要焦点，但人们对此知之甚少。在北卡罗来纳州和佛罗里达州之间（约100,000 km ²）的大陆架上收集了七年诱饵水下视频数据（2011-2017；N  =  8,379个视频；〜14,000 h的视频））以更好地了解“灰鲷”的相对丰度随空间，时间，栖息地和环境条件而变化的方式。总体上，在视频中有6.9％观察到了成年的灰鲷，但与佛罗里达州北部（视频的1.4％）相比，它们在佛罗里达州（占视频的16.9％）更常见。我们考虑了对视频的不完美检测，使用三角洲加成模型确定了成年的灰鲷主要发生在佛罗里达州圣奥古斯丁以南，深度小于50 m的高浮雕硬底地点。尽管精度相对较高，但时间变异性相对较小（年平均变异系数= 24％）。在视频上观察到十五个大型的灰色鲷鱼聚集体（即，单个帧上计数的个体超过20个），但目前尚不清楚这些聚集是否表明潜在的产卵聚集位点。这项工作为重要的沿海鲷成年生活阶段的鲷鱼生态学提供了更深刻的见解，这将改善它们的管理和保护。