Abstract

Sparisoma rubripinne form a primary fish spawning aggregation (P FSA) off the western border of Reef Bay, St John, US Virgin Islands. While observations of the aggregation have been documented, individual visitation frequencies and duration of visitation is unknown. This project passively tracked individuals (n = 25) through a hydroacoustic array in Reef Bay. About half (12 of 25) of tagged individuals frequented the P FSA and two new FSA sites that were discovered, one northwest of the primary site (NW FSA) and one on the eastern side of the bay (E FSA). Five S. rubripinne tagged from eastern Reef Bay frequented only E FSA. For S. rubripinne tagged from western Reef Bay, five individuals frequented both P FSA and NW FSA, and two individuals frequented only NW FSA. Frequency of visitation varied across individuals, ranging from 19 d to 403 d. The average daily duration for individuals across FSAs was significantly different (?? = 289.5773, p <.0001), with P FSA averaging the longest daily duration (? = 33.5 min). Spatial patterns of migration were observed by five fish at the NW FSA. S. rubripinne individuals, and females, did not display a consistent temporal pattern for FSA visitation or duration; however female size may affect spawning frequencies and duration. Further analyses are necessary to determine correlations between environmental factors and spawning characteristics.

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