Abstract

Black grouper, Mycteroperca bonaci, are protogynous hermaphrodites that reproduce seasonally in transient fish spawning aggregations (FSA) (Brule et al. 2003). A common component of shallow, benthic habitats, they exhibit high vulnerability to overexploitation due to their natural history. Now classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN Red List with a predicted 30% population loss across their range (Ferreira et al. 2008), they grow slow, mature late, and display high female to male sex ratios (Crabtree and Bullock 1998). Along the Puerto Rican coast black grouper are now only found associated with deeper topographic features along the shelf edge and offshore geological formations, potentially as a consequence of past removal from near shore habitats by local fishing pressure. In order to develop a sustainable fishery, a more thorough understanding of their reproductive behavior is essential, due to their particular vulnerability during spawning aggregations. Traditional methods however are not adequate to acquire the in-depth knowledge needed due to the deeper and more complex environments that local FSAs are formed. Utilizing the passive acoustics methodology, the spatio-temporal patterns of black grouper spawning aggregations were modeled at three FSAs within the western Atlantic.

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