Population connectivity of red drum in the northern Gulf of Mexico

Rooker, Jay R.; Stunz, Gregory W.; Holt, Scott A.; Minello, Thomas J.

doi:10.3354/meps08605

Cited by 33 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…; Rooker et al. ). Much of the biological information on the Red Drum stock in the GOM comes from studies conducted in the 1980s and 1990s, of which only one published study was specific to the Mississippi coastal region (Overstreet ).…”

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confidence: 98%

Sex‐Specific Growth and Reproductive Dynamics of Red Drum in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

2019

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The Red Drum Sciaenops ocellatus stock is heavily targeted in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) by recreational fishers and supports a small commercial fishery in Mississippi. Despite their popularity, little recent work has been done to describe their life history. In this work, we describe sex‐specific growth and reproductive dynamics of Red Drum collected from the northern GOM from September 2016 through October 2017. We evaluated seven candidate growth models and found that the three‐parameter von Bertalanffy growth function (VBGF) was the best candidate length‐at‐age model. No significant difference in growth between sexes was observed with the three‐parameter VBGF, despite the female‐specific curve having a larger mean asymptotic length than the male‐specific curve. All seven candidate growth models predicted similar mean length‐at‐age estimates, and four of them exhibited significant differences in sex‐specific mean length at age, with females reaching a larger length at age than males after age 5. There was no significant difference between the sex‐specific weight‐at‐length relationships. Red Drum are batch spawners that spawn in northern GOM coastal waters during August and September. We estimated 3.7 d between spawns and 10.5 spawning events per female in 2017. Nearly 20% of fish collected during the spawning season were sexually mature but reproductively inactive, indicating the possibility of skipped spawning. The age at 50% maturity was around 3 years (length at 50% maturity = 670 mm TL) in both sexes, but fish were not spawning capable until age 4.5 (703 mm TL) in males and age 5.8 (840 mm TL) in females. Furthermore, elevated gonadosomatic indices were not observed until around age 5–6. The updated life history information presented in this work helps to address current data limitations and provides critical information for future assessments of Red Drum stocks in the northern GOM.

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confidence: 98%

Sex‐Specific Growth and Reproductive Dynamics of Red Drum in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

2019

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“…, Rooker et al. ). However, the question was raised whether red drum were simply retained in an area close to their natal estuary or whether fish in fact moved away from the area and returned to spawn.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…, Rooker et al. ). In this study, we integrate data from biotelemetry with more traditional sampling methods, including capture‐based sampling and aerial surveys.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Assessing reproductive behavior important to fisheries management: a case study with red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus

Lowerre‐Barbieri

Burnsed

Bickford

2016

Ecological Applications

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Spawning site selection and reproductive timing affect stock productivity and structure in marine fishes but are poorly understood. Traditionally, stock assessments measure reproductive potential as spawning stock biomass or egg production and do not include other aspects of reproductive behavior. Red drum make an excellent case study to assess these other aspects, as (1) they are highly fecund, pelagic spawners, like most exploited marine fishes; (2) their life cycle is delineated between nursery (estuarine) and adult (coastal and offshore) habitat; and (3) they are managed at these two spatial scales. This study was conducted from August 2012 to December 2013 and integrates data from multiple methods and spatial scales. Aerial surveys were used for large-scale monitoring of aggregations off two known estuarine nursery areas, Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor, Florida, USA. Capture-based sampling in Tampa Bay coastal (n = 2581) and estuarine waters (n = 158) was used to assess reproductive state and to confirm coastal spawning. To assess spatial dynamics, we acoustically tagged two population components in the Tampa Bay system, subadults from the estuary (n = 20) and adults from the coastal spawning site (n = 60). Behavioral plasticity was seen in subadult recruitment to coastal habitat, with some subadults maturing and recruiting before or during the spawning season and others (14 of 20 acoustically tagged fish) recruiting at the end of the 2012 spawning season. Both adults and recruited subadults (n = 29) were consequently detected in the Charlotte Harbor array, 132 km to the south. Spawning-site fidelity to the Tampa Bay spawning site occurred at both the population and individual scales. Aggregations consistently occurred in Tampa Bay coastal waters during the spawning season, and approximately two-thirds of tagged adults returned in the 2013 spawning season. A similar proportion of subadults returned to the Tampa Bay spawning site, exhibiting natal homing. However, these first-time spawners arrived later than repeat spawners and were detected over shorter time periods. This study, and others like it, demonstrates how integrating data from individuals tracked over space and time with more traditional population-based sampling is changing our understanding of ecological processes that affect marine fish productivity and our ability to manage for sustainablity.

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“…Colin (1992) determined that Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus) traveled up to 100 km to reach a spawning site, which helps explain the large spatial scale decline of Nassau grouper when spawning sites are targeted by fishing. Similarly, 60-81% of weakfish (Cynoscion regalis) (Thorrold et al 2001) return to their natal estuary to spawn, and 59-99% of adult red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) were found within or near their natal estuary (Rooker et al 2010).…”

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Characteristics of spawning ground fidelity by a diadromous fish: a multi-year perspective

2011

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Spawning site fidelity has long been documented for anadromous salmonids, and more recently in estuarine and marine fish. The level of fidelity has implications for population dynamics, conservation, and management. This study extended a previous examination of spawning ground fidelity for common snook, Centropomus undecimalis. We used seines to sample 28 km of Gulf of Mexico beaches, spawning grounds for snook, during spawning season (May through September) from 2007 through 2010. Of 3,304 snook tagged, 171 unique fish were recaptured a total of 186 times and, of those, 166 fish (97.08%) (181 recaptures=97.31%) were recaptured on the same island where they were tagged. One hundred seven of the recaptures occurred in the same year they were tagged, and 79 occurred one or more years after they were tagged, indicating fidelity was expressed within and across years. Distance between tag and recapture locations within and among years demonstrated fidelity at a spatial scale much smaller than barrier island (mean distance between tag and recapture =1.59±0.12 km; island lengths 6.8, 8.9 and 12.4 km). Furthermore, mapping of capture locations revealed clumped distribution of snook on spawning grounds, further suggesting snook propensity for specific locations. Fish size had no effect on fidelity. We conclude that common snook show a high level of spawning site fidelity in southwest Florida, which may result in spawning group segregation, may influence the response of snook to disturbances, and may have implications for adult-to-nursery ontogenetic connections.

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Population connectivity of red drum in the northern Gulf of Mexico

Cited by 33 publications

References 44 publications

Sex‐Specific Growth and Reproductive Dynamics of Red Drum in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

Sex‐Specific Growth and Reproductive Dynamics of Red Drum in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

Assessing reproductive behavior important to fisheries management: a case study with red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus

Characteristics of spawning ground fidelity by a diadromous fish: a multi-year perspective

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