Recruitment of Age-0 Gray Triggerfish to Benthic Structured Habitat in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

Abstract

Recruitment of age-0 gray triggerfish Balistes capriscus to benthic artificial reefs was documented by diver surveys from 2003 to 2007. Divers counted and estimated the sizes of all gray triggerfish that recruited to three types of artificial reefs (all in 20-m depths) ranging from 1.2 to 4.0 m² in area. Reefs were located in the Gulf of Mexico 28 km south of Dauphin Island, Alabama. Forty artificial reefs built in June 2003 were surveyed in October–December 2003 and May 2004; 20 artificial reefs built in October 2005 were surveyed in October and December 2005 and May, August, and December 2006; 40 artificial reefs built in July 2006 were surveyed in June 2007; and 30 artificial reefs built in August 2007 were surveyed in September, October, and December 2007. Recruitment patterns were similar in the fall and winter of 2003 and 2007. In 2005 significantly lower numbers of recruits were detected than in other years, which may have been caused by a major hurricane. Peak recruitment of age-0 gray triggerfish occurred from September to December. Based on known spawning seasonality and the first appearance of recruits in September in this study, gray triggerfish spend 4–7 months in the pelagic environment before recruiting to benthic habitat.

Received April 1, 2010; accepted October 10, 2010

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank S. Beyer, A. Chapin, L. Grove, D. Miller, D. Nadeau, R. Redman, D. Topping, B. Wildberger, and R. Wingate for field assistance. This project was funded by the Mississippi–Alabama Sea Grant Consortium (MASGC R/SP-14), NOAA award NA06OAR4170078, and the Marine Resources Division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. This study is a contribution of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station and Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures, Auburn University.