ABSTRACT: Characterizing the behavior of coral reef fishes at home reef sites can provide insight into the mechanisms of spatial ecology and provide a framework for spatial resource management. In the Caribbean, populations of Nassau grouper Epinephelus striatus have declined due to fishing impacts on spawning aggregations. Despite local and regional efforts by fisheries managers to implement regulations protecting spawning aggregations, few Nassau grouper populations appear to be recovering. In order to improve management strategies for this critically endangered species, it is necessary to understand the spatial ecology of the species across seasons and years. In the Cayman Islands, we used a multi-year, presence/absence, depth-coded acoustic tagging dataset of Nassau grouper to characterize patterns in the species’ behavior and vertical habitat use at home reef sites. Twenty acoustically tagged individuals (56-84 cm, 70.01 ± 7.40 cm; total length, mean ± SD) maintained consistent home reef sites, although some fish regularly shifted activity centers within the home site, often following a seasonal spawning migration. Seven fish with depth-coded tags showed a higher probability of vertical movement in the hours immediately following dawn and preceding dusk. We found evidence of a positive relationship between the fish condition factor and depth of home reef site. The finding of persistent home reef sites across years suggests that properly sized spatial reserves at home reef sites can be a useful complement to spawning aggregation protection when considering management strategies for Nassau grouper.

中文翻译：

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拿骚石斑鱼在家庭礁区的空间生态：使用声学遥测技术跟踪多年（2005-2008年）的大型，长寿命的肾上腺素

摘要：表征珊瑚礁鱼类在家庭礁区的行为，可以深入了解空间生态的机理，并提供空间资源管理的框架。在加勒比地区，拿骚石斑鱼Epinephelus striatus的种群由于捕鱼对产卵聚集的影响而下降。尽管渔业管理人员在当地和区域为实施保护产卵集合体的法规做出了努力，但几乎没有拿骚石斑鱼种群在恢复。为了改善这种极度濒危物种的管理策略，有必要了解跨季节和多年的物种空间生态。在开曼群岛，我们使用了多年的Nassau石斑鱼存在/不在场，深度编码的声学标签数据集，以表征该物种的行为方式和在家庭礁石场所的垂直栖息地使用方式。二十个带有声学标签的个体（56-84厘米，70.01±7.40厘米；总长度，平均数±SD）保持一致的家礁位置，尽管有些鱼会定期在其家中移动活动中心，通常是在季节性产卵迁徙之后。七种带有深度编码标签的鱼在黎明和黄昏之前的几个小时内显示出较高的垂直运动可能性。我们发现鱼类状况因素与家庭礁石场所深度之间存在正相关的证据。多年以来对永久性礁石场所的发现表明，在考虑拿骚石斑鱼的管理策略时，适当大小的礁石场所空间储备可以作为产卵聚集保护的有用补充。