Novel deep-water spawning patterns of bonefish ( Albula vulpes ), a shallow water fish
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Novel deep‑water spawning patterns of bonefish (Albula vulpes), a shallow water fish Steven M. Lombardo1 · Aaron J. Adams1,2 · Andy J. Danylchuk3 · Cameron A. Luck1,4 · Matthew J. Ajemian1 Received: 28 May 2020 / Accepted: 28 October 2020 / Published online: 23 November 2020 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Coastal marine fishes that form spawning aggregations most commonly exhibit a two-point movement pattern, with locations separated by migration: home range to spawning aggregation site and return to home range. However, the bonefish, Albula vulpes, partakes in a unique three-point spawning migration. Bonefish migrate up to 80 km from shallow water home flats to form nearshore pre-spawning aggregations (PSA) before moving offshore to spawn. Although these broad patterns have previously been documented, details of the offshore spawning-associated diving behavior have yet to be rigorously examined. Using active acoustic telemetry and sonar data in 2019 in Abaco, The Bahamas, we provide a complete account of bonefish offshore spawning movements and novel deep diving behavior to 137.9 m. Bonefish were continuously observed at depths ≥ 100 m for 2 h; a time period that included multiple depth changes and culminated in a spawning ascent to 67.3 m at 0.57 m s−1. These new data on bonefish offshore movements and deep dives, coupled with CTD data, suggest that bonefish actively spawn at pycnoclines and thermoclines. Two previous tracking attempts (2013, 2018) at this location reflect spatiotemporal plasticity in spawning, a behavior counter to other aggregation forming fishes. This is the first detailed documentation of such deep spawning for a shallow water coastal fish species. The ecological motivation for diving to the deepest depths remains speculative. Future work must examine the dynamic relationship between bonefish diving behavior, spawning site selection, and oceanographic features.
Introduction Spawning aggregations are a unique ephemeral reproductive strategy where fish come together en masse under certain environmental conditions to spawn. Spawning aggregations for coastal marine fishes may either be resident, where fish spawn within or near their home range, or transient, migrating beyond the bounds of a realized home range (Domeier Responsible Editor: S. Hamilton. Reviewed by B. M. Binder and an undisclosed expert. * Steven M. Lombardo [email protected] 1
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University, Fort Pierce, FL, USA
2
Bonefish and Tarpon Trust, Miami, FL, USA
3
Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA
4
Present Address: North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, Morehead City, NC, USA
and Colin 1997). Unlike the somewhat plastic selection of foraging grounds, and to some extent nursery habitat (Petitgas et al. 2012), transient spawning aggregations are highly predictable in that they are temporally and spatially restrictive, occurring at the same locat
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