Performance Evaluation of the Western Sambo Ecological Reserve

John Hunt, Kerry Maxwell, Rod Bertelsen, Alejandro Acosta, Jeff Renchen, and Bill Sharp

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Fish and Wildlife Research Institute

A Presentation to the FKNMS Marine Zoning and Regulatory Review’s

Ecosystem Protection Working Group

Western Sambo Ecological Reserve

10 miles

FKNMS Boundary

• Intended to protect large areas of contiguous and diverse habitats

• Established in 1997

• 11.6 square miles

• Intended to protect permanent-residence areas needed for sustainable populations of fish and other marine life

Study Organisms

Caribbean Spiny Lobster

Finfish

Spiny lobster

• Compared spiny lobster abundance and size structure in WSER to adjacent MPAs and fished areas

Spiny Lobster Surveys

Relative abundance of legal sized Caribbean spiny lobsters within WSER, nearby smaller reserves, and

fished areas: 1997 - 2006 CP

UE

of L

egal

Size

d lo

bste

rs

Comparison of Lobster Size Structure WSER and Pelican Shoal

2004 - 2012

50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95

100

Males Females Males Females

WSER Pelican

Fore Reef Patch Reef

Mea

n Ca

rapa

ce L

engt

h (m

m)

• Lobsters of both sexes larger within WSER compared to Pelican Shoal

• Within WSER, largest male lobsters typically observed on the patch reefs

Comparison of Lobster Size Structure WSER and Pelican Shoal

2007 - 2012

• Lobsters larger than 100-mm carapace length more common in WSER compared to Pelican Shoal

Perc

ent

Perc

ent

WSER Pelican Shoal

• Some lobsters are resident within WSER

• Age/growth study found lobsters that were composed of many year classes; those in unprotected areas of FKNMS were largely only 1-2 years post-settlement; some lobster within WSER same age as the reserve

• Males larger than females of the same age

What do these data tell us?...

Maxwell, K.E. et al., 2013 Fisheries Research 144: 84-90

• Presence of large males very important

• Females preferentially mate with larger males

• Females with large males produce more viable eggs compare to females that mate with smaller males MacDiarmid and Butler. 1999. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 46: 14-24

Finfish

Finfish Surveys

• Multi-agency program that surveys finfish throughout Florida Keys

• Compared fish density

and size in WSER to nearby fished areas

Yellowtail Snapper

0.00

2.00

4.00

6.00

8.00

10.00

12.00

93 to 97 98 to 2002 2003 to 2007 2008 to 2011

Den

sity

(Fis

h/Cy

linde

r)

Sub - Legal Sized Yellowtail Snapper Unprotected WSER WSER Established

0.00

2.00

4.00

6.00

8.00

10.00

12.00

93 to 97 98 to 2002 2003 to 2007 2008 to 2011

Legal Sized Yellowtail Snapper

Unprotected WSER

Dens

ity (F

ish/

Cylin

der)

WSER Established

• No detectable reserve effect

• Adults typically farther offshore than boundary of WSER

• WSER patch reefs and seagrass beds provide high-quality sub-adult habitat

Gray Snapper

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1993 to 1997 1998 to 2002 2003 to 2007 2008 to 2011

Sub-Legal Sized Gray Snapper

Unprotected WSER WSER Established

Den

sity

(Fis

h/Cy

linde

r)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1993 to 1997 1998 to 2002 2003 to 2007 2008 to 2011

Dens

ity (F

ish/

Cylin

der)

Legal Sized Gray Snapper

Unprotected WSER WSER Established

• Substantial reserve effect • WSER habitats provide

protection for entire gray snapper life history

Mutton Snapper

0.00

0.10

0.20

0.30

0.40

0.50

1993 to 1997 1998 to 2002 2003 to 2007 2008 to 2011

Sub-Legal Sized Mutton Snapper

Unprotected WSER

WSER Established

Den

sity

(Fis

h/Cy

linde

r)

0.00

0.10

0.20

0.30

0.40

0.50

1993 to 1997 1998 to 2002 2003 to 2007 2008 to 2011

Legal Sized Mutton Snapper

Unprotected WSER

WSER Established

Dens

ity (F

ish/

Cylin

der)

• No detectable reserve effect • Do not form large groups

except during spawning

• Mutton snapper use WSER as a residence area

• Adults transient from

residence areas to spawning sites

Red Grouper

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

1993 to1997 1998 to 2002 2003 to 2007 2008 to 2011

Sub-Legal Sized Red Grouper

Unprotected WSER WSER Established

Den

sity

(Fis

h/Cy

linde

r)

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

1993 to1997 1998 to 2002 2003 to 2007 2008 to 2011

Legal Sized Red Grouper

Unprotected WSER

WSER Established

Dens

ity (F

ish/

Cylin

der)

• Substantial reserve effect • WSER habitats provide

protection for sub-adult and adult red grouper

• Red grouper exhibit high

degree of site fidelity

Black Grouper

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

1993 to 1997 1998 to 2002 2003 to 2007 2008 to 2011

Sub-Legal Sized Black Grouper

Unprotected WSER

WSER Established

Den

sity

(Fis

h/Cy

linde

r)

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

1993 to 1997 1998 to 2002 2003 to 2007 2008 to 2011

Legal Sized Black Grouper

Unprotected WSER WSER Established

Dens

ity (F

ish/

Cylin

der)

• No detectable reserve effect • Black grouper more

transient than red grouper as sub-adults and adults

• Adult black grouper typically

found in deeper water beyond the boundary of WSER

Acoustic tracking of Caribbean Spiny Lobsters and Groupers within WSER

Then, acoustic tags are placed externally on the back of lobsters; surgically inserted internally in the abdominal cavity of fish

First, underwater “listening posts” are strategically placed in the study area to record the time a specific acoustic tag is nearby

Next, the fish and lobsters are released into their habitat

Later, the receivers are recovered to download data

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Spring 2006 – Spring 2007 70 lobsters

41 fish (primarily grouper)

0 2 4 6 Kilometers

Acoustic tracking lobsters – Summer 2003

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d d d ddddd

dddd

10 lobsters

Bertelsen, R.D. 2013. Fisheries Research 144: 91-102

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0 2 4 6 Kilometers

Acoustic tracking lobsters – Summer 2004

39 lobsters

06/19/04 06/24/04 06/30/04 07/06/04 07/12/04 07/18/04 07/23/04

Date

24.490

24.495

24.500

24.505

Latit

ude

Shelterhabitat

Spawninghabitat

Foraginghabitat

5km

Patch reef

Egg-bearing female lobsters commonly tracked moving to and from sheltering and foraging habitat and periodically offshore where they spawn

Acoustic tracking lobsters – Summer 2004

0 2 4 6 Kilometers

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Acoustic tracking lobsters – 2006-2007

Spring 2006 – Spring 2007 70 lobsters

Summer 2007 24 lobsters

Spawning habitat

Foraging habitat

Shelter habitat

06/23/07 07/16/07 08/09/07

Date

24.476

24.480

24.484

24.488

Latitu

de

June 16 July 11 August 4

WSER boundary

1.3km

Fore reef

Acoustic tracking lobsters

6/23 7/16 8/09

Spawning habitat

06/18/06 07/11/06 08/03/06

24.4660

24.4680

24.4700

24.4720

24.4740

Date

Latitu

de

June 21 July 14 Aug 8

Foraging and shelter

habitat

1km

Outlier reef

Acoustic tracking lobsters

6/18 7/11 8/03

0 2 4 6 Kilometers

WSE

R Bo

unda

ry

WSE

R Bo

unda

ry

Reproductive migrations

Summary of reproductive movement patterns of Caribbean spiny lobsters acoustically tagged within WSER

0 2 4 6 Kilometers

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Acoustic tracking of groupers – 2006-2007

Spring 2006 – Spring 2007 26 red grouper 4 black grouper

Summer 2007 1 red grouper

3 black grouper

Acoustic Tracking – Red Grouper

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• Red grouper exhibit high degree of site fidelity

• Home range ~ 2 km2

• WSER encompasses the estimated home range for red grouper

Acoustic Tracking – Black Grouper

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0 1 2 Kilometers

N

EW

S

24°27'46" 24°27'46"

24°29'45" 24°29'45"

81°44'08"

81°44'08"

81°42'09"

81°42'09"

6.2 %

92.1 %

1.4 %

●

●

●

Continuous detection

Intermittent detection

Release site

WSER boundary

VR2

J.E. Randall

11/9/2006 to 1/20/2007

• Black grouper exhibit less site fidelity than red grouper • Adult black grouper typically found in deeper water

beyond the boundary of WSER

Management Goal of WSER

• WSER was intended to protect permanent-residence areas needed for sustainable populations of fish and other marine life

• Intended to protect large areas of contiguous and diverse habitats

• No reserve effects detected for fish species that utilize

deeper water habitats during their life history (yellowtail snapper, mutton snapper, and black grouper)

• Substantial reserve effects detected for those highly resident fish species that utilize the shallow water reef and seagrass habitats protected by the WSER (red grouper, and gray snapper)

• Reserve effects detected for spiny lobster; however, resident females do move beyond WSER offshore boundary to release eggs, some during the open lobster fishing season

SUMMARY

Conclusions

10 miles

FKNMS Boundary

• Level of protection provided by the WSER is directly related to its size, configuration, habitat, and the life history of the species

• Contiguous offshore habitats should be incorporated in order for the WSER to meet intended goals

Questions?

Drift Vial Release Sites

Molasses Reef

Sombrero Reef

Looe Key Eastern Sambo

Eastern Dry Rocks & Sand Key

GS 1

GS 3

GS 2 Alacranes Reef

Banco Chinchorro

NE Yucatan

1996

Comparison of lobster population dynamics Dry Tortugas and Florida Keys

Dry Tortugas 1970

Dry Tortugas and Florida Keys

Dry Tortugas 1997

Florida Keys 1997