2021 journal article
Environmental conditions, diel period, and fish size influence the horizontal and vertical movements of red snapper
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, 11(1).
MeSH headings : Animals; Feeding Behavior / physiology; North Carolina; Perciformes / physiology; Taxis Response / physiology; Temperature
TL;DR:
An acoustic positioning system is used to elucidate the horizontal and vertical movements of 44 red snapper off North Carolina, USA, in 2019 to suggest that redsnapper feed primarily on benthic organisms at night, and display diel vertical migration up to warmer waters during the day to aid digestive efficiency.
(via Semantic Scholar)
open access via www.nature.com (publisher PDF)
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
14. Life Below Water
(Web of Science)
15. Life on Land
(Web of Science)
Source: Web Of Science
Added: June 10, 2021
AbstractMost demersal fishes are difficult to observe and track due to methodological and analytical constraints. We used an acoustic positioning system to elucidate the horizontal and vertical movements of 44 red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) off North Carolina, USA, in 2019. Mean movement rate and distance off bottom varied by individual, with larger red snapper generally moving faster and spending more time farther off the bottom than smaller individuals. We used generalized additive mixed models that accounted for temporal autocorrelation in the data to show that mean hourly red snapper movement rate was lower during the day than at night and was negatively related to bottom water temperature. Moreover, red snapper spent more time off the bottom during the day than at night, and vertical movements were mostly related to bottom upwelling events that sporadically occurred in May–July. Our results and previous observations suggest that red snapper feed primarily on benthic organisms at night, and display diel vertical migration (i.e., thermotaxis) up to warmer waters (when present) during the day to aid digestive efficiency. Movement is a central organizing feature in ecology, and the sustainable management of fish will benefit from a better understanding of the timing and causes of fish movement.