Impact of artificial reef deployment on reef fish movement and community assemblages
Data files
Mar 27, 2025 version files 8.97 KB
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Data_ReefFishMovementCommunityAssemblages.zip
4.49 KB
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README.md
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Abstract
Artificial reefs provide critical habitat for fish in areas lacking benthic structure, yet our understanding of how artificial reefs function and develop is limited. Here, changes in fish community assemblages were monitored using baited remote underwater video (BRUV) surveys before and after a new artificial reef was deployed in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Movement of red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) and gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus) between nearby oil and gas platforms (n=3) and the new artificial reef was examined using acoustic telemetry, and residency was calculated for fish associated with both structure types. Fish community development at the artificial reef site was slow despite close proximity to existing habitat, and fish communities at the artificial reef site did not differ from control sites (unconsolidated substrate) one year after reef deployment. Residency of red snapper and gray snapper at the artificial reef was surprisingly low with most tagged fish emigrating rapidly, and no tagged fishes from the surrounding platforms were detected moving to the artificial reef during the initial eight months following artificial reef deployment. While residency was much higher at the platforms, a major hurricane (Hurricane Ida) passed directly over the sites and led to large numbers of tagged fishes emigrating from the study area. Results highlight an artificial reef with limited fish community development and low residency after one year despite close proximity to existing habitats. Given the presence of seasonal benthic hypoxia in this region, findings suggest that artificial reefs with limited vertical relief may offer sub-optimal habitat for reef fish in comparison to the substantial vertical relief offered by standing platforms, reducing the potential benefits to reef fish. Given the rapid decommissioning of oil and gas infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico, this study has significant implications for rigs-to-reefs programs as well as artificial reef siting and design.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.1ns1rn94z
Description of the data and file structure
Data_ReefFishMovementCommunityAssebmlages.zip contains the following compressed files.
BRUV-richness-abundance.csv = file containing counts of species observed during BRUV sampling. Columns are:
- Date: day the BRUV sample was recorded
- Season: moniker for the season the BRUV sampling occurred during
- Station: where the BRUV sample was recorded (C refers to control, R refers to reef, and P refers to platform)
- Type: structure type of the location where the BRUV sample was recorded
- Camera: whether the BRUV sample was recorded on a shallower (10m) or deeper (17m) camera
- Ariopsis_felis *… *Peprilus_paru: these columns are counts for each species that were observed during the BRUV sample
- TotalCount: total number of individuals observed during the BRUV sample
- TotalSpecies: total number of species observed during the BRUV sample
Platform_Residency.csv = this file provides details and data from the 40 reef fish that were tagged to evaluate movement and residency at the study’s platform locations. The columns are:
- FishID: unique moniker given to each fish that was tagged
- Species: which species an individual belonged to, either red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) or gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus)
- Fork Length: fork length, in mm, for each tagged fish
- Location Tagged: where each tagged fish was caught, tagged and released at out of the three study platforms
- Date Tagged: day each fish was tagged and released
- Days Detected: number of days each fish’s acoustic tag was detected at the study site
- Days Monitored: number of days each fish was considered ‘at large’ during the study, typically was equivalent to the battery life of each acoustic tag
- Residency: the residency index (0-1) for each tagged fish determine by the ratio of days detected:days monitored. Residency was not calculated for fish detected less than 48 hours, this is denoted with NA for those individuals.
- Days Detected PostHurricane: number of days each fish’s acoustic tag was detected at the study site following Hurricane Ida
- Days Monitored PostHurricane: number of days each fish was considered ‘at large’ during the study following Hurricane Ida
- PostHurricane Residency: the post-hurricane residency index (0-1) for each tagged fish determine by the ratio of days detected:days monitored following Hurricane Ida. Post-hurricane residency was not calculated for fish only detected prior to Hurricane Ida, this is denoted with NA in this column for those individuals.
- Included in Analysis: whether or not a tagged fish was included in residency analysis
Reef_Residency.csv = this file provides details and data from the 20 reef fish that were tagged to evaluate movement and residency at the study’s artificial reef location. The columns are:
- FishID: unique moniker given to each fish that was tagged
- Species: which species an individual belonged to, either red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) or gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus)
- Fork Length: fork length, in mm, for each tagged fish
- Date Tagged: day each fish was tagged and released
- Release Method: how each fish was released post-tagging, either by a descender device (SeaQualizer) or using a release cage
- Days Detected: number of days each fish’s acoustic tag was detected at the study site
- Days Monitored: number of days each fish was considered ‘at large’ during the study, typically was equivalent to the battery life of each acoustic tag
- Residency: the residency index (0-1) for each tagged fish determine by the ratio of days detected:days monitored. Residency was not calculated for fish detected less than 48 hours or that were predated, this is denoted with NA for those individuals.
- Fate: fate of tagged individuals. Predation was determined by GoPro footage recording during cage releases or damage to SeaQualizer and indicates a fish was predated upon by a shark or dolphin. Fish that were detected at the study reef then left were considered emigrated. Fish with consistent pressure sensor readings from their acoustic tag were interpreted as either mortalities or tag loss events. Fish that were detected throughout the study period were considered alive.
- Included in Analysis: whether or not a tagged fish was included in residency analysis