Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T15:00:48.145Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Residency and behavioural rhythmicity of ballan wrasse (Labrus bergylta) and rays (Raja spp.) captured in Portelet Bay, Jersey: implications for Marine Protected Area design

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2012

G.M. Morel*
Affiliation:
Department of the Environment, States of Jersey, Howard Davis Farm, Trinity, Jersey, UK
J. Shrives
Affiliation:
Department of the Environment, States of Jersey, Howard Davis Farm, Trinity, Jersey, UK
S.F. Bossy
Affiliation:
Department of the Environment, States of Jersey, Howard Davis Farm, Trinity, Jersey, UK
C.G. Meyer
Affiliation:
Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii, Hawaii, USA
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: G.M. Morel, Department of the Environment, States of Jersey, Howard Davis Farm, Trinity, Jersey, UK email: g.morel@gov.je

Abstract

We monitored the long-term residency of reef-associated ballan wrasse and sand-dwelling rays captured at the site of a potential future Marine Protected Area (MPA: Portelet Bay, Jersey) by implanting them with small transmitters and deploying underwater receivers inside the bay. Individual fish were detected at Portelet Bay for up to 618 days, but there were species-specific differences in residency and detection patterns. Ballan wrasse were year-round residents at the study site where they exhibited distinct, rhythmic, diel, tidal and seasonal patterns of behaviour, whereas rays were occasional visitors to Portelet Bay with no discernible pattern to their visits. Results indicate relatively small MPAs (<0.5 km2) that with suitable habitat could provide effective, long-term protection for ballan wrasse, but would likely be of little conservation benefit for rays. Our findings emphasize the importance of quantifying fish movements when planning MPAs which intend to protect multi-species assemblages of coastal fishes.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2012 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Arendt, M.D., Lucy, J.A. and Munroe, T.A. (2001a) Seasonal occurrence and site-utlization patterns of adult tautog, Tautoga onitis (Labridae), at manmade and natural structures in lower Chesapeake Bay. Fishery Bulletin 99, 519527.Google Scholar
Arendt, M.D., Lucy, J.A. and Evans, D.A. (2001b) Diel and seasonal activity patterns of adult tautog, Tautoga onitis, in lower Chesapeake Bay, inferred from ultrasonic telemetry. Environmental Biology of Fishes 62, 379391.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cartamil, D.P., Vaudo, J.J., Lowe, C.G., Wetherbee, B.M. and Holland, K.N. (2003) Diel movement pattern of the Hawaiian stingray, Dasyatis lata: implications for ecological interactions between sympatric elasmobranch species. Marine Biology 142, 841847.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deady, S. and Fives, J.M. (1995) Diet of ballan wrasse, Labrus bergylta, and some comparisons with the diet of corkwing wrasse, Crenilabrus melops. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 75, 651665.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dipper, F.A., Bridges, C.R and Menz, A. (1977) Age, growth and feeding in the ballan wrasse, Labrus bergylta Ascanius 1767. Journal of Fish Biology 11, 105120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellis, J., Morel, G., Burt, G. and Bossy, S. (2011) Preliminary observations on the life history and movements of skates (Rajidae) around the Island of Jersey, western English Channel. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 91, 11851192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellis, J.R., Clarke, M.W., Cortés, E., Heessen, H.J.L., Apostolaki, P., Carlson, J.K. and Kulka, D.W. (2008). Management of elasmobranch fisheries in the North Atlantic. In Payne, A.I.L., Cotter, A.J. and Potter, E.C.E. (eds) Advances in fisheries science. 50 years on from Beverton and Holt. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, pp. 184228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellis, J.R., Cruz-Martinez, A., Rackham, B.D. and Rogers, S.I. (2005) The distribution of chondrichthyan fishes around the British Isles and implications for conservation. Journal of Northwest Atlantic Fishery Science 35, 195213.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Figueiredo, M., Morato, T., Barreiros, J.P., Afonso, P. and Santos, R.S. (2005) Feeding ecology of the white seabream, Diplodus sargus, and the ballan wrasse, Labrus bergylta, in the Azores. Fisheries Research 75, 107119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glazer, R.A. and Delgado, G.A. (2006) Designing marine fishery reserves using passive acoustic telemetry. In Taylor, J.C. (ed.) Emerging technologies for reef fisheries research and management. Seattle, WA: NOAA, pp. 2637.Google Scholar
Holden, M.J. (1974) Problems in the rational exploitation of elasmobranch populations and some suggested solutions. In Harden Jones, F.R. (ed.) Sea fisheries research. London: Paul Elek, pp. 117137.Google Scholar
Hunter, E., Buckley, A.A., Stewart, C. and Metcalfe, J.D. (2005) Migratory behaviour of the thornback ray, Raja clavata, in the southern North Sea. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 85, 10951105.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Le Port, A., Sippel, T. and Montgomery, J.C. (2008) Observations of mesoscale movements in the short-tail stingray, Dasyatis brevicaudata from New Zealand using a novel PSAT tag attachment method. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 359, 110117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lindholm, J., Auster, P.J. and Knight, A. (2007) Site fidelity and movement of adult Atlantic cod Gadus morhua at deep boulder reefs in the western Gulf of Maine, USA. Marine Ecology Progress Series 342, 239247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meyer, C.G., Holland, K.N. and Papastamatiou, Y.P. (2007) Seasonal and diel movements of giant trevally Caranx ignobilis at remote Hawaiian atolls: implications for the design of marine protected areas. Marine Ecology Progress Series 333, 1325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meyer, C.G., Holland, K.N., Wetherbee, B.M. and Lowe, C.G. (2000) Movement patterns, habitat utilization, home range size and site fidelity of whitesaddle goatfish, Parupeneus porphyreus in a marine reserve. Environmental Biology of Fishes 59, 235242.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meyer, C.G. and Holland, K.N. (2009) Spatial dynamics and substrate impacts of recreational snorkelers and SCUBA divers in Hawaiian Marine Protected Areas. Journal of Coastal Conservation 12, 209217.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meyer, C.G., Papastamatiou, Y.P. and Clark, T.B. (2010) Differential movement patterns and site fidelity among trophic groups of reef fishes in a Hawaiian marine protected area. Marine Biology 157, 14991511.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parsons, D.M., Babcock, R.C., Hankin, R.K.S., Willis, T.J., Aitken, J.P., O'Dor, R.K. and Jackson, G.D. (2003) Snapper Pagrus auraus (Sparidae) home range dynamics: acoustic tagging studies in a marine reserve. Marine Ecology Progress Series 262, 253265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Payne, N.L., Gillanders, B.M., Webber, D.M. and Semmens, J.M. (2010) Interpreting diel activity patterns from acoustic telemetry: the need for controls. Marine Ecology Progress Series 419, 295301.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pingree, R.D. and Mardell, G.T. (1987) Tidal flows around the Channel Islands. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 67, 691707.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Quero, J-C. (1984) Les poisson de mer des pêches Françaises. Paris: IFREMER/Mallez Imprimeurs-Cambrai, 394 pp.Google Scholar
Roberts, C.M., Andelman, S., Branch, G., Bustamante, R.H., Castilla, J.C., Dugan, J., Halpern, B.S., Lafferty, K.D., Leslie, H., Lubchenco, J., Mcardle, D., Possingham, H.P., Ruckelshaus, M. and Warner, R.R. (2003) Ecological criteria for evaluating candidate sites for marine reserves. Ecological Applications 13 Supplement, S199S214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sale, P.F., Cowen, R.K., Danilowicz, B.S., Jones, G.P., Kritzer, J.P., Lindeman, K.C., Planes, S., Polunin, N.V.C., Russ, G.R., Yvonne, J., Sadovy, Y.J. and Steneck, R.S. (2005) Critical science gaps impede use of no-take fishery reserves. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 20, 7480.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sobel, J. and Dahlgren, C. (2004) Marine reserves: a guide to science, design and use. Washington, DC: Island Press, 383 pp.Google Scholar
Topping, D.T., Lowe, C.G. and Castelle, J.E. (2005) Home range and habitat utilization of adult California sheephead Semicossyphus pulcher (Labridae), in a temperate no-take marine reserve. Marine Biology 142, 301311.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Topping, D.T., Lowe, C.G. and Caselle, J.E. (2006) Site fidelity and seasonal movement patterns of adult California sheephead (Semicossyphus pulcher): an acoustic monitoring study. Marine Ecology Progress Series 326, 257267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vaudo, J.J. and Lowe, C.G. (2006) Movement pattern of the round stingray Urobatis halleri (Cooper) near a thermal outfall. Journal of Fish Biology 68, 17561766.CrossRefGoogle Scholar