Acoustically monitoring coral reef fishes to determine short-term spatial and temporal movement and habitat utilization patterns

The spatial and temporal movement and habitat utilization patterns of coral reef fishes were quantified using acoustic telemetry on 16 coral reef fish taken from 9 species across 5 families. Fish were caught in traps and surgically implanted with coded-acoustic transmitters and released back into the water by divers. The study site in La Parguera, Puerto Rico included 12 acoustic receivers set in an array from nearshore mangrove habitats to midshelf fringing reef zones. Samples were monitored from 1 to 63 days with total detections ranging from 1 to 43,182. Only two fish, both Ocyurus chrysurus, were recorded to have moved outside of the release site to contiguous receivers. The maximum distance traveled by O. chrysurus was approximately 7 km during a 30-hr period, with the furthest displacement from the release site being 1.2 km. Temporal movement patterns were observed to vary among species. The temporal pattern of recordings suggest that some species were engaging in crepuscular and nighttime feeding while others were seeking shelter during the same period. To more accurately quantify fine-scaled spatial and temporal movement patterns future studies should focus on determining a priori receiver-transmitter detection ranges and effective receiver-receiver overlap.