Abstract

Long-term monitoring of marine and estuarine fishes is labor intensive and subject to varying environmental conditions and spatio-temporal constraints. To better understand fish populations and increase predictive capabilities, scientists and managers need reliable long-term monitoring systems that collect data on populations through all environmental conditions and reduce the labor required for data collection. To collect long-term data on fish survival and movements, we adapted autonomous passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag antennae for use in tropical environments. These antennae function through all environmental conditions, accurately recording the unique identification number of each PIT tagged individual passing over an antenna, and only require labor for construction, data download, maintenance, and the marking of fish. Antennae have long life spans and function continuously, and PIT tags have a lifespan measured in decades, making this system ideal for long-term studies. The utility of this recapture system was demonstrated during a nursery habitat study in Charlotte Harbor, Florida USA. From November 2008 to February 2010, we marked 1,446 juvenile common snook (Centropomus undecimalis) with PIT tags (and a total of 3,810 snook since 2004). Between August 2008 and August 2010, the 11 antennae we constructed throughout four mangrove creeks recorded 362,880 PIT tag detections of 1,594 individual fish. The antenna array recaptured 83.7% of fish marked after antenna construction was complete. The detailed recapture information allowed for highly precise calculation of apparent survival and examination of long-term habitat use. In addition to discussing the data we have collected, this paper details how to design and construct customized PIT tag antenna systems and covers the issues and limitations associated with adapting these systems to tropical marine and estuarine environments. These systems may be especially useful in the tropics for monitoring juveniles of other species that use near shore nursery habitats such as mangroves.

PDF Preview