The Reefs of the Turks and Caicos Islands

Logan, Alan C.; Sealey, Kathleen Sullivan

doi:10.1007/978-94-007-5965-7_9

Cited by 4 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Field observations were conducted in a roughly 5600 m 2 area consisting of two small coves in shallow (<2 m) subtidal waters adjacent to the Center for Marine Resource Studies (CMRS, operated by The School for Field Studies) on the southwestern coast of South Caicos in the Turks and Caicos Islands, West Indies (Figure 1; 21.7° N 71.8° W). The Turks and Caicos Islands are located on three shallow (< 20 m) carbonate plateaus (Caicos, Turks Island, and Mouchoir Banks) in the southeastern portion of the Lucayan archipelago (Logan & Sealey, 2013). The study site at the southwestern end of South Caicos lies at the margin of a deep (up 2200 m) channel (Turks Island Passage) between the Caicos and Turks Island banks.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The study site at the southwestern end of South Caicos lies at the margin of a deep (up 2200 m) channel (Turks Island Passage) between the Caicos and Turks Island banks. Surface seawater temperatures range from 22°C to 28°C according to season (Logan & Sealey, 2013) and salinity ranges from 36.4 to 36.5 ppt (Jury, 2013). The seafloor in the study area consists largely of limestone and dead coral heads, interspersed with patches of sand and seagrass (C.E.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In order to document activity patterns, six individuals were recorded with time lapse photography on multiple separate days between May and August, 2020 during daylight, and 10 individual octopus were recorded using a specially made device, the Octopus Monitoring Gadget (OMG; see Bennice et al, 2019) between July and December, 2021 during both daylight and darkness. Surface seawater temperatures range from 22°C to 28°C according to season (Logan & Sealey, 2013) and salinity ranges from 36.4 to 36.5 ppt (Jury, 2013). The seafloor in the study area consists largely of limestone and dead coral heads, interspersed with patches of sand and seagrass (C.E.…”

Section: Materials S and Me Thodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Octospy: What Octopus insularis do in their dens

2023

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Octopus insularis is a benthic octopod from the tropical and subtropical Western Atlantic Ocean that inhabits semi‐permanent “dens” (small crevices) in hard substrate. We used visual surveys to assess den occupancy and remote cameras at den entrances to assess activity patterns of O. insularis of South Caicos (21.5112° N, 71.5190° W) in the Turks and Caicos Islands (May–August, 2020 and July–December, 2021). Dens were occupied for a median of 4 days, but occupancy ranged widely (1 day–2 months), indicating migration between dens at erratic intervals. The two most prevalent behaviors were Away from the Den, time presumably spent mostly foraging, and Quiescence, when the octopus was sleeping or otherwise unreactive. Our data indicate that Octopus insularis is diurnal, with time Away from the Den peaking between mid‐morning (0700–1000) and late afternoon (1600–2000), and with Quiescence peaking at night (2000–0600) and also in the middle of the day (1100–1600), although adherence to this pattern was not strict. High interindividual variation and high within‐individual stability in the proportions of time Away from the Den and Quiescent suggest that individuals of this species vary greatly from each other in their hunting and resting patterns, while also showing high levels of internal consistency for at least a week. These observations will guide future research with this commercially important species, further differentiates O. insularis from congeners, and demonstrate the efficacy of minimally disruptive field techniques in studying behavior.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Materials S and Me Thodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Octospy: What Octopus insularis do in their dens

2023

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“…Beyond the "Shallow Reefs" is a stretch of hard sandy benthos that separates them from the deeper reefs (22 -30 m depth) that fringe the oceanic (> 30 m) drop off. The 30 m isobath approximates the regional oceanic drop off, where benthic sloping steepens to > 45°as the seabed drops towards the continental shelf (Logan and Sealey, 2013;O'Connor and Cullain, 2021).…”

Section: Surveyed Reefsmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…To assess how elasmobranch visits varied in accordance with the geographic characteristics of the sampled reefs, the study area was divided into four "Reef Regions" each with distinct benthic structures, depth profiles, and reef crest ecologies (Figure 1, Table 1) (Logan and Sealey, 2013;Maioli et al, 2023). The shoreline (8 -17 m depth) of the studied area is dominated by patches of reef consisting of shallow (~8 -17 m) scattered coral-encrusted rock pinnacles fractured by small gullies (Figure 1, Table 1) (Costa et al, 2005).…”

Section: Surveyed Reefsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental factors modulate the distribution of elasmobranchs in southern Mozambique

Murie,

Oliver,

Gavard

et al. 2024

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Investigating the spatiotemporal ecology of elasmobranchs is an important precursor to their effective management. Understanding long-term patterns in the movement and habitat use of threatened species can improve management plans so that they yield increased conservation benefits. We investigated the spatiotemporal and environmental drivers that underpin the abundance and distribution of elasmobranchs around reef habitats in southern Mozambique to highlight reefs that are important (“hotspots”) to the regional elasmobranch community. Visual belt transects (n = 738), supported by video recordings, were completed on 16 reef sites off the coast of southern Mozambique from 2018 to 2022. Nine elasmobranch species were encountered annually (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos, Triaenodon obesus, Stegostoma tigrinum, Neotrygon caeruleopunctata, Pateobatis jenkinsii, Taeniurops meyeni, Mobula kuhlii, Mobula alfredi, Mobula birostris) and 11 individual environmental and spatiotemporal parameters (horizontal water visibility, tidal range and state, moon illumination, temperature on the reef, cloud cover, time of day, day of the year, transect distance from shore, transect depth, and the region that the transect occurred in) were measured. All species, (bar P. jenkinsii) were significantly more abundant around certain reefs in the sampled region. Total counts for most species were highest in the austral summer however two species’ (M. birostris and S. tigrinum) were most abundant in the winter months. The tidal state, tidal range, and moon illumination correlated significantly with the numbers of each of the nine elasmobranch species. Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS) indicated that species’ responses to the measured parameters grouped taxonomically. Environmental influences resulted in strong seasonal patterns of reef use by large-bodied and pelagic elasmobranch species (e.g. manta rays). The measured environmental parameters also resulted in daily, monthly, and seasonal patterns of abundance of reef-resident stingray and shark species. Banning extraction of elasmobranch species around the reefs where they aggregate and reflecting species distributions within fisheries regulations may significantly benefit the regional elasmobranch community.

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Geologic Analogs

Laake

2021

Remote Sensing for Hydrocarbon Exploration

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The Reefs of the Turks and Caicos Islands

Cited by 4 publications

References 28 publications

Octospy: What Octopus insularis do in their dens

Octospy: What Octopus insularis do in their dens

Environmental factors modulate the distribution of elasmobranchs in southern Mozambique

Geologic Analogs

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