@article{cao_craig_damiano_2024, title={Spatiotemporal dynamics of Atlantic reef fishes off the southeastern US coast}, volume={15}, ISSN={["2150-8925"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4868}, DOI={10.1002/ecs2.4868}, abstractNote={Abstract Understanding the spatiotemporal dynamics of fish species is a central concern in fish ecology and crucial for guiding management and conservation efforts. We constructed a joint species distribution model (JSDM) to simultaneously estimate the spatiotemporal distributions and densities for 21 reef fish species in the southeastern United States (SEUS). The model separately estimates encounter probability and positive density, and accounts for unobserved spatial and spatiotemporal variation using latent factors, where the correlations among species are induced. We applied the model to video data collected from a large‐scale, fishery independent survey. A clustering method was applied to the results of the JSDM to group species based on spatial and spatiotemporal synchrony in encounter probability and positive density. We found strong spatial associations among most of the reef fish species. However, species did exhibit differences in occupied habitat that varied with latitude and/or depth. Within their area of occupied habitat, almost all the species share similar spatial pattern of average density. However, for some species, annual distributions were less correlated with their expected average distributions perhaps due to differing responses to underlying spatiotemporal drivers. Some species show significant declines in abundance, for example, black sea bass, red porgy, and blueline tilefish, while a small number of species showed evidence of shifts in distribution, for example, black sea bass. The findings suggest that spatiotemporal management strategies may be of limited utility for reducing bycatch in these highly mixed reef fisheries due to high spatial correlations in occupied habitat and spatial patterns in density. Species‐specific responses to environmental change may also influence the spatiotemporal structure of reef assemblages. This work suggests management attention is needed for some of the lesser known species as they are showing declining trends in abundance.}, number={6}, journal={ECOSPHERE}, author={Cao, Jie and Craig, J. Kevin and Damiano, Matthew D.}, year={2024}, month={Jun} }
 @article{damiano_karnauskas_merten_cao_2024, title={Spatiotemporal dynamics of dolphinfish<i> (Coryphaena</i><i> hippurus)</i> in the western Atlantic Ocean}, volume={122}, ISSN={["1937-4518"]}, DOI={10.7755/FB.122.1-2.3}, abstractNote={Dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) are caught throughout the western Atlantic Ocean over varying spatial and temporal scales.Prior attempts to quantify the population dynamics of dolphinfish in this region have been inhibited by an inability to model the spatiotemporal dynamics of this stock.We fit a seasonal vector autoregressive spatiotemporal (VAST) model to quantify the spatiotemporal dynamics of western Atlantic dolphinfish, to estimate standardized relative indices of abundance during 1986-2022 at regional scales, and to estimate changes in spatial distribution.The magnitude of abundance was greatest during spring and summer in northern spatial strata and was comparable over seasons in southern spatial strata.Abundance of dolphinfish appeared to be stable during 1986-2018 and then declined during 2019-2022.This trend occurred in all regions, except for in Atlantic waters from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, to the southern border of Georgia, where abundance remained stable during 2019-2022.No shift in the distribution of the population was detected, but regional patterns of abundance provide insight into changes in the timing of availability.This study resulted in the first standardized index of relative abundance to capture the spatiotemporal dynamics of western Atlantic dolphinfish.These results have increased our understanding of the population dynamics of this species in this region and should prove useful in future attempts to manage the population at different spatial and temporal scales.}, number={1-2}, journal={FISHERY BULLETIN}, author={Damiano, Matthew D. and Karnauskas, Mandy and Merten, Wessley and Cao, Jie}, year={2024}, pages={26–43} }
 @article{karp_link_grezlik_cadrin_fay_lynch_townsend_methot_adams_blackhart_et al._2023, title={Increasing the uptake of multispecies models in fisheries management}, ISSN={["1095-9289"]}, DOI={10.1093/icesjms/fsad001}, abstractNote={Abstract}, journal={ICES JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE}, author={Karp, Melissa A. and Link, Jason S. and Grezlik, Max and Cadrin, Steve and Fay, Gavin and Lynch, Patrick and Townsend, Howard and Methot, Richard D. and Adams, Grant D. and Blackhart, Kristan and et al.}, year={2023}, month={Jan} }
 @article{damiano_wager_rocco_shertzer_murray_cao_2023, title={Integrating information from semi-structured interviews into management strategy evaluation: a case study for Southeast United States marine fisheries (vol 9, 1063260, 2022)}, volume={10}, ISSN={["2296-7745"]}, DOI={10.3389/fmars.2023.1205418}, abstractNote={COPYRIGHT © 2023 Damiano, Wager, Rocco, Shertzer, Murray and Cao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. TYPE Correction PUBLISHED 16 May 2023 DOI 10.3389/fmars.2023.1205418}, journal={FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE}, author={Damiano, Matthew and Wager, Bethany and Rocco, Alex and Shertzer, Kyle W. W. and Murray, Grant D. D. and Cao, Jie}, year={2023}, month={May} }
 @article{damiano_wager_rocco_shertzer_murray_cao_2022, title={Integrating information from semi-structured interviews into management strategy evaluation: a case study for Southeast United States marine fisheries}, volume={9}, ISSN={["2296-7745"]}, DOI={10.3389/fmars.2022.1063260}, abstractNote={Management strategy evaluation (MSE) has become a more common tool for engaging stakeholders in fisheries management, and stakeholder participation in MSE is increasingly recognized as a vital component of the process. The participation of stakeholders, specifically fishers, in MSE is of particular importance because they often possess intimate knowledge of the socio-ecological management system that MSE seeks to model. When the resources to conduct a “full” MSE with direct fisher involvement are unavailable, MSEs are sometimes conducted by desk-based analysts with no fisher engagement. We propose an intermediate framework in which information collected from semi-structured interviews is used to inform a “desk-based” MSE. We demonstrate that semi-structured interviews with commercial and recreational fishers can elicit some of the same kinds of information that fishers provide during direct participation in MSE. We conducted 30 semi-structured interviews with commercial and recreational fishers from the Southeast United States participating in either Atlantic cobia (Rachycentron canadum) or black sea bass (Centropristis striata) fisheries. We collected primarily qualitative and some quantitative information about preferred conceptual objectives and management measures, and how their fishing behavior has changed in response to past management action. Commercial fishers generally preferred conceptual objectives and management measures that align with traditional MSY-based fisheries management, while recreational fishers’ responses were substantially more heterogeneous, indicating a more diverse range of desired objectives and preferred management measures. We synthesized this information to develop a suite of management procedures that employ a range of fishing mortality-based constant-catch harvest control rules and size-based management measures for simulation testing against preferred objectives by sector. We demonstrate that integrating information from semi-structured interviews with MSE in this way offers a cost-effective alternative intermediate approach to fisher participation in MSE when direct participation is not possible.}, journal={Frontiers in Marine Science}, author={Damiano, M. and Wager, B. and Rocco, A. and Shertzer, K. and Murray, G. and Cao, J.}, year={2022} }
 @article{jara_damiano_heppell_2022, title={Integration of scientific and local expertise to develop risk assessments for nearshore species at different spatial scales}, volume={245}, ISSN={["1872-6763"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.fishres.2021.106153}, abstractNote={The U.S West Coast states currently set harvest caps to manage fishery stocks in state waters based on federal stock assessments that combine data from larger areas of the coast. Local catch and stock condition information are not well incorporated into coastwide assessment models to reflect smaller-scale processes that are often important to local fisheries, and some nearshore species have not been assessed. This can lead to a mismatch of local resource status and catch limits. We gathered local information on nearshore fishes in Oregon, USA, to contribute to a multi-scale Productivity and Susceptibility Analysis (PSA), an expert opinion-based model that combines information about the productivity of a stock with its susceptibility to fishing activities, habitat degradation, and other factors. The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) has developed PSAs for federally managed stocks on a coastwide scale, largely to provide initial information on the relative vulnerabilities of many data-poor species. Our research sought local expertise on questions related to susceptibility to develop a PSA for nearshore species at smaller spatial scales in Oregon, USA. We combined published biological data for ten nearshore species with information obtained from fishermen during a series of outreach meetings and an online survey. We found that our PSA results generally matched those generated for West Coast stocks, but with somewhat lower vulnerability scores provided by the local data. We also found some key differences among survey regions and between the coastwide vulnerability ratings and smaller spatial scale ratings, reflecting the influence that local user-based information can have on the results of the model. While PSA provides only general information on vulnerability and stock status, it can be useful to identify important local differences in stock susceptibility to fishing or other impacts that may be lost when stocks are monitored and managed at larger scales.}, journal={FISHERIES RESEARCH}, author={Jara, Andrea and Damiano, Matthew D. and Heppell, Selina S.}, year={2022}, month={Jan} }
 @article{cao_wang_damiano_zhou_zhu_2021, title={A Bayesian Multilevel Ordinal Regression Model for Fish Maturity Data: Difference in Maturity Ogives of Skipjack Tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) Between Schools in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean}, volume={8}, ISSN={["2296-7745"]}, DOI={10.3389/fmars.2021.736462}, abstractNote={The maturity ogive is vital to defining the fraction of a population capable of reproduction. In this study, we proposed a novel approach, a Bayesian multilevel ordinal regression (i.e., Bayesian continuation ratio model), to model the maturity ogive. The model assumes that the observed maturity stage originates from the categorization of latent continuous variables. We demonstrated this approach by testing whether there are differences in the maturity ogive of skipjack tuna (Katsuonus pelamis) in the western and central Pacific Ocean between two school types, i.e., free-swimming and floating-object-associated schools. The model results show that K. pelamis, given the same fork length, are more likely to have a higher maturity stage in a free-swimming school than those associated with floating objects. The gonadosomatic index revealed the same conclusion. Our results indicate that fish aggregation devices (FADs) could negatively affect the maturity of K. pelamis and consequently reduce the population reproductive potential. This study provides (1) an alternative approach to analyze fisheries ordinal data; (2) important quantitative evidence to evaluate the existing ecological hypotheses; and (3) implications for tuna fisheries management.}, journal={FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE}, author={Cao, Jie and Wang, Xuefang and Damiano, Matthew D. and Zhou, Cheng and Zhu, Jiangfeng}, year={2021}, month={Dec} }