Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

Event Name/Location

55 Proceedings of the Fifty Fifth Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute.-- Xel HaMexico.

Presentation Date

2004

Document Type

Article

Keywords

Recruitment, Reef Fish, Visual Census

Description

Grunts (Haemulidae) are important fisheries species and represent a major component of reef fish communities in the Greater Caribbean region. To date, little is known about their recruitment pattems. Data from more than 2,000 visual fish counts from multiple natural and artificial reef studies in Broward County, Florida, over a seven-year period, were examined to identify both spatial and temporal trends in recruitment of juvenile (i.e., < 5cm TL) grunts of the genus Haemulon. In general, data from these studies indicate that juvenile Haemulon spp. recruitment increases in the spring and peaks in the early summer months (i.e., June and July). Data from natural reef surveys revealed a predominantly nearshore preference for recruitment in water depths less than 8 m. However, on artificial reefs, recruitment commoniy occurred at 20 m depths. The biotic and abiotic factors determining the settlement of grunts are not clear and will be examined in future studies.

Comments

Los roncos (Haemulidae) son especies importantes en las industrias pesqueras del Caribe. Poco se sabe acerca de sus patrones de reclutamiento. Este estudio examinó los patrones espaciales y temporales en el reclutamiento de juveniles de Haemulon spp. ( < 5cm TL) en el condado de Broward, Florida. Los datos indicaron que el reclutamiento máximo ocurrió durante el comienzo del verano (i.e., junio y julio). Los resultados también mostraron que en arrecifes naturales, el reclutamiento de Haemulon spp. ocurrió en densidades más altas en los sitios más cercanos a la orilla. En los arrecifes artificiales, el reclutamiento de Haemulon spp. también mostró una preferencia por las zonas poco profundas.

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