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Passive acoustic telemetry reveals highly variable home range and movement patterns among unicornfish within a marine reserve

Citation

Marshell, A and Mills, JS and Rhodes, KL and McIlwain, J, Passive acoustic telemetry reveals highly variable home range and movement patterns among unicornfish within a marine reserve, Coral Reefs, 30 pp. 631-642. ISSN 0722-4028 (2011) [Refereed Article]


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Copyright Statement

© 2011 Springer-Verlag.

DOI: doi:10.1007/s00338-011-0770-2

Abstract

Marine reserves are the primary management tool for Guam’s reef fish fishery. While a build-up of fish biomass has occurred inside reserve boundaries, it is unknown whether reserve size matches the scale of movement of target species. Using passive acoustic telemetry, we quantified movement patterns and home range size of two heavily exploited unicornfish Naso unicornis and Naso lituratus. Fifteen fish (N. unicornis: n = 7; N. lituratus: n = 4 male, n = 4 female) were fitted with internal acoustic tags and tracked continuously over four months within a remote acoustic receiver array located in a decade-old marine reserve. This approach provided robust estimates of unicornfish movement patterns and home range size. The mean home range of 3.2 ha for N. unicornis was almost ten times larger than that previously recorded from a three-week tracking study of the species in Hawaii. While N. lituratus were smaller in body size, their mean home range (6.8 ha) was over twice that of N. unicornis. Both species displayed strong site fidelity, particularly during nocturnal and crepuscular periods. Although there was some overlap, individual movement patterns and home range size were highly variable within species and between sexes. N. unicornis home range increased with body size, and only the three largest fish home ranges extended into the deeper outer reef slope beyond the shallow reef flat. Both Naso species favoured habitat dominated by corals. Some individuals made predictable daily crepuscular migrations between different locations or habitat types. There was no evidence of significant spillover from the marine reserve into adjacent fished areas. Strong site fidelity coupled with negligible spillover suggests that small-scale reserves, with natural habitat boundaries to emigration, are effective in protecting localized unicornfish populations.

Item Details

Item Type:Refereed Article
Keywords:acoustic telemetry, home range, movement patterns, marine reserves, Acanthuridae, Guam
Research Division:Agricultural, Veterinary and Food Sciences
Research Group:Fisheries sciences
Research Field:Fisheries management
Objective Division:Animal Production and Animal Primary Products
Objective Group:Fisheries - wild caught
Objective Field:Wild caught fin fish (excl. tuna)
UTAS Author:Marshell, A (Dr Alyssa Marshell)
ID Code:150929
Year Published:2011
Web of Science® Times Cited:61
Deposited By:Sustainable Marine Research Collaboration
Deposited On:2022-07-06
Last Modified:2022-11-29
Downloads:0

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