Collaborative Research: RAPID: Storm and tropical cyclone effects on the spawning activity, larval dispersal, and ecosystem impacts of an endangered marine predator

许多种类的珊瑚鱼在特定的地点形成季节性的大型聚集产卵。如果管理不善，这种聚集可能导致种群过度捕捞。此外，浅海沿岸地区的产卵聚集也可能容易受到长时间潮涌、大量淡水径流以及与大风暴和热带气旋有关的潜在盐度变化的影响。然而，这些日益普遍的事件的影响尚未得到研究。本研究调查了飓风多里安对佛罗里达东南海岸濒危歌利亚石斑鱼（Epinephelus itajara）鱼类产卵活动的影响。该项目更广泛的影响涉及其为歌利亚石斑鱼渔业管理计划提供信息的价值。该项目支持佛罗里达国际大学的两名早期职业教师和一名博士后研究员、一名研究生和几名本科生的培训。飓风“多里安”发生在佛罗里达州浅水区歌利亚石斑鱼产卵聚集的高峰期。该项目利用自2017年以来正在进行的声学调查、遥测、生物物理建模和产卵地点歌利亚石斑鱼的行为研究来评估飓风多里安如何：1)影响产卵事件的持续时间和聚集的大小；2)影响个体对产卵地点和产卵行为的居住；3)在有/没有风暴或飓风事件的情况下改变了歌利亚石斑鱼幼虫的扩散模式并确定了苗圃栖息地；4)由低营养水平觅食率的变化和随后的底栖动物变化决定的歌利亚石斑鱼产卵聚集影响了珊瑚礁生态系统水平的营养级联。这些方法的结合提供了洞察风暴如何影响从个体到群体的产卵行为，以及随后的幼虫招募如何受到影响。最后，本项目验证了加速度传感器在自由放养鱼类产卵行为识别中的应用，这对跨分类群的产卵研究具有重要意义。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Many species of reef fish form large seasonal gatherings at specific locations to spawn. Such aggregations may lead to population overfishing if not well managed. Additionally, spawning aggregations in shallow coastal areas may also be susceptible to prolonged surge, high volumes of freshwater run-off and potentially changes in salinity associated with large storms and tropical cyclones. Yet, the impact from such events, which are becoming increasingly prevalent, has not been studied. This study investigates the impacts of hurricane Dorian on spawning activity of the endangered goliath grouper (Epinephelus itajara) fish species off the southeast coast of Florida. The broader impacts of the project relate to its value to inform fisheries management plans for goliath grouper. The project supports two early career faculty members and training of a postdoctoral researcher, a graduate student, and several undergraduate students at Florida International University. Hurricane Dorian occurred at the peak of goliath grouper's spawning aggregation in Florida's shallow waters. This project takes advantage of ongoing acoustic surveys since 2017, telemetry, biophysical modelling, and behavioral studies of goliath grouper at spawning sites to assess how hurricane Dorian: 1) influenced the duration of spawning events and the size of aggregations, 2) affected individual residency to spawning sites and spawning behavior, 3) changed the dispersal patterns of goliath grouper larvae and identify nursery habitats with/without storm or hurricane events, and 4) influenced trophic cascades at the reef ecosystem level due to goliath grouper spawning aggregations as determined by changes on lower trophic level foraging rates and the subsequent changes to the benthos. The combination of methods provide insight into how storms affects spawning behavior from the individual to the group level, and how subsequent larval recruitment may be influenced. Finally, this project tests the utility of acceleration sensors for identifying spawning behavior in free ranging fishes, which will be of major significance to spawning studies across taxa.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.