Final Report I. The Executive Summary Project title: Building a multi-institutional effort to understand regional connectivity towards effective management of marine resources: linking fish, essential habitats and ecosystems. Date: 03-31-2018 Project Number: R-101-2-14. Investigators and affiliation: Adrian Jordaan, Assistant Professor Andy J. Danylchuk, Associate Professor Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 160 Holdsworth Way, Amherst, Massachusetts, 01003 Dates Covered: 12- 31-2014 until 12-31-2016, with extensions to 03-31-2018 A. Objectives BIRNM was established by Presidential proclamation in 1961, expanded in 2001, and is now one of few fully marine protected areas in the NPS System. Our overall objective was to quantify spatial movements and interactions amongst 5 trophic levels of fish, and make recommendations for management of different life-histories and movement patterns. Our goals specific to this project are to: acoustically tag 25 (divided relatively evenly between each of 5 species) fish each year (50 total) across 5 trophic levels; document spatial movements and habitat connectivity; leverage additional support to tag a greater number of individuals so as to quantify relationships amongst species at different trophic levels. The use of passive acoustic telemetry is the most efficient method to monitor the longterm movements of fishes and has been used extensively to study fish movement patterns by the PI’s in St. John, USVI and multiple other projects. By 2013, 20 acoustic receivers were deployed to study the spatial ecology of marine turtles. In 2013, Cooperating scientists Gregory Skomal and Bryan DeAngelis will deploy 20-30 more receivers within the BIRNM boundaries. The NPS and NOAA deployed and maintain ~60 receivers in 2014. In total, the BIRNM receiver array comprised 100+ receivers by 2014. Currently, the array comprises 111 receivers, with 28 of those nested in a fine-scale positioning system to examine movements with location data instead of presence data at a receiver location. Over the course of our research, we have tagged 114 fish around Buck Island Reef National Monument (Table 1), including prior to Sea Grant funding (Table 2). With support from Sea Grant in 2015 a multipurpose trip was taken to St Croix, USVI. During that trip from May 1 to June 5, 24 tags were implanted in a number of shark species, yellowtail and mutton snapper and other species (Table 1). A VEMCO Positioning System (VPS) was installed to allow the capability of tracking fish with greater accuracy, thus improving understanding of fine scale habitat use. The VPS has subsequently been moved to a new location, thus providing another windows with finer resolution. Furthermore, tracking tagged individual fish for multiple years will provide the opportunity to understand habitat selection, movements related to life history events and site fidelity with inter-annual variation in movement patterns. We have built up a large dataset of detections, and collaborators who have tagged other species, and with the support of National Park Service (NPS) through UVI EPSCOR have been working to provide logistical support for partner meetings and workshops to develop data products that provide guidance to NPS.
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