Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Estimation of spawning migration distance of the white-streaked grouper (Epinephelus ongus) in an Okinawan coral reef system using conventional tag-and-release

  • Published:
Environmental Biology of Fishes Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The white-streaked grouper (Epinephelus ongus) is an important fisheries target in the region around Okinawa. This species forms spawning aggregations at specific spawning grounds in the last-quarter of the moon in April and/or May. Using a tag-and-release method, we estimated the migration distance and the degree of unified movement of groupers associated with the spawning migration. In total, 1157 E. ongus individuals were tagged and released at their home grounds in the non-spawning period and 350 were tagged at a known spawning ground (Yonara Channel) in the spawning period. For the fish that were released at the home grounds, 23 individuals were recaptured at the spawning ground during in the spawning periods. For the individuals that were released at the spawning ground, six individuals were recaptured outside of the spawning ground. The estimated migration distances from the home ground to the spawning ground ranged from 2.2 to 8.8 km. There was no significant relationship between the fish total length (TL) and migration distance for both males and females. Tagged individuals inhabiting the same home ground were recaptured at different points at the spawning ground separated by a distance of over several hundred meters. Furthermore, tagged individuals that were released at the same point at the spawning ground were recaptured at different home grounds separated by a distance up to several kilometers. These results suggest that unified movements associated with the spawning migration are not high for E. ongus, which is contradict with some previous studies suggesting the coordinated spawning migration of other Epinephelus spp.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Beets J, Friedlander A (1992) Stock analysis and management strategies for red hind, Epinephelus guttatus, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Proc Gulf Caribb Fish Inst 42:66–79

    Google Scholar 

  • Beets J, Friedlander A (1999) Evaluation of a conservation strategy: a spawning aggregation closure for red hind, Epinephelus guttatus, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Environ Biol Fish 55:91–98

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bolden SK (2000) Long-distance movement of a Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus) to a spawning aggregation in the central Bahamas. Fish Bull 98:642–645

    Google Scholar 

  • Claydon J (2004) Spawning aggregations of coral reef fishes: characteristics, hypotheses, threats and management. Oceanogr Mar Biol Annu Rev 42:265–302

    Google Scholar 

  • Colin PL, Sadovy YJ, Domeier ML (2003) Manual for the study and conservation of reef fish spawning aggregations. Society for the conservation of reef fish aggregations, Special Publication No. 1 (ver. 1), pp 1–98 + iii

  • Domeier ML, Colin PL (1997) Tropical reef fish spawning aggregations: defined and reviewed. Bull Mar Sci 60:698–726

    Google Scholar 

  • Domeier ML (2012) Revisiting spawning aggregations: definitions and challenges. In: Sadovy de Mitcheson Y, Colin PL (eds) Reef fish spawning aggregations: biology, research and management. Springer, London, pp 1–20

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton R, Sadovy de Mitcheson Y, Aguilar-Perera A (2012) The role of local ecological knowledge in the conservation and management of reef fish spawning aggregations. In: Sadovy de Mitcheson Y, Colin PL (eds) Reef fish spawning aggregations: biology, research and management. Springer, London, pp 331–369

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Johannes RE, Squire L, Graham T, Sadovy Y, Renguul H (1999) Spawning aggregations of groupers (Serranidae) in Palau. Marine Conservation Research Series Publ. 1, The Nature Conservancy. 144 pp

  • Kadison E, Nemeth RS, Blondeau JE (2009) Assessment of an unprotected red hind (Epinephelus guttatus) spawning aggregation on Saba Bank in the Netherlands Antilles. Bull Mar Sci 85:101–118

    Google Scholar 

  • Levin PS, Grimes CB (2002) Reef fish ecology and grouper conservation and management. In: Sale PF (ed) Coral reef fishes. Academic, San Diego, pp 377–389

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Luckhurst BE (1998) Site fidelity and return migration of tagged red hind (Epinephelus guttatus) to a spawning aggregation site in Bermuda. Proc Gulf Caribb Fish Inst 50:750–763

    Google Scholar 

  • Nanami A, Sato T, Ohta I, Akita Y, Suzuki N (2013a) Preliminary observations of spawning behavior of white-streaked grouper (Epinephelus ongus) in an Okinawan coral reef. Ichthyol Res 60:380–385

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nanami A, Sato T, Takebe T, Teruya K, Soyano K (2013b) Microhabitat association in white-streaked grouper Epinephelus ongus: importance of Acropora spp. Mar Biol 160:1511–1517

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nanami A, Kawabata Y, Sato T, Yamaguchi T, Kawabe R, Soyano K (2014) Spawning migration and returning behavior of white-streaked grouper Epinephelus ongus determined by acoustic telemetry. Mar Biol 161:669–680

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nemeth RS (2005) Population characteristics of a recovering US Virgin Islands red hind spawning aggregation following protection. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 286:81–97

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nemeth RS, Blondeau J, Herzlieb S, Kadison E (2007) Spatial and temporal patterns of movement and migration at spawning aggregations of red hind, Epinephelus guttatus, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Environ Biol Fish 78:365–381

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nemeth RS (2009) Dynamics of reef fish and decapod crustacean spawning aggregations: underlying mechanisms, habitat linkages, and trophic interactions. In: Nagelkerken I (ed) Ecological connectivity among tropical coastal ecosystems. Springer, pp 73–134

  • Ohta I (2007) Current status of coral reef fish fisheries in the Yaeyama Islands. Annu Rep Okinawa Prefectural Fish Ocean Res Cent 68:189–196 (in Japanese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Ohta I, Ebisawa A (2009) Relationship of forming spawning aggregation of the white-streaked grouper, Epinephelus ongus, with lunar periodicity and water temperature in Yaeyama Islands. Annual Report of Okinawa Prefectural Fisheries and Ocean Research Center 70:28–35 (in Japanese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Ohta I, Nanami A (2009) Distribution of the white-streaked grouper, Epinephelus ongus, in the spawning ground in Yaeyama Islands. Annual Report of Okinawa Prefectural Fisheries and Ocean Research Center 70:36–39 (in Japanese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Randall JE (1987) A preliminary synopsis of the groupers (Perciformes: Serranidae: Epinephelinae) of the Indo-Pacific Region. In: Polovina JJ, Ralston S (eds) Tropical snapper and groupers: biology and fisheries management. Westview Press, Boulder, pp 89–188

    Google Scholar 

  • Rhodes KL, Sadovy Y (2002) Temporal and spatial trends in spawning aggregations of camouflage grouper, Epinephelus polyphekaidon, in Pohnpei, Micronesia. Environ Biol Fish 63:27–39

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rhodes KL, Tupper MH (2008) The vulnerability of reproductively active squaretail coral grouper (Plectropomus areolatus) to fishing. Fish Bull 106:194–203

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson J, Aumeeruddy R, Jörgensen TL, Öhman MC (2008) Dynamics of camouflage (Epinephelus polyphekadion) and brown marbled grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus) spawning aggregations at a remote reef site, Seychelles. Bull Mar Sci 83:415–431

    Google Scholar 

  • Russ GR (2002) Yet another review of marine reserves as reef fishery management tools. In: Sale PF (ed) Coral reef fishes: dynamics and diversity in a complex ecosystem. Academic, San Diego, pp 421–443

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sadovy Y (1996) Reproduction of reef fishes. In: Polunin NVC, Roberts CM (eds) Reef fisheries. Chapman and Hall, London, pp 15–59

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sadovy Y, Domeier M (2005) Are aggregation-fisheries sustainable? Reef fish fisheries as a case study. Coral Reefs 24:254–262

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sadovy Y, Rosario A, Roman A (1994) Reproduction in an aggregating grouper, the red hind, Epinephelus guttatus. Environ Biol Fish 41:269–286

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sadovy Y, Cornish A, Domeier M, Colin PL, Russell M, Lindeman KC (2008) A global baseline for spawning aggregations of reef fishes. Conserv Biol 22:1233–1244

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sadovy de Mitcheson Y, Craig MT, Bertoncini AA, Carpenter KE, Cheung WWL, Choat JH, Cornish AS, Fennessy ST, Ferreira BP, Heemstra PC, Liu M, Myers RF, Pollard DA, Rhodes KL, Rocha LA, Russell BC, Samoilys MA, Sanciangco J (2013) Fishing groupers towards extinction: a global assessment of threats and extinction risks in a billion dollar fishery. Fish Fish 14:119–136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sadovy de Mitcheson Y, Erisman B (2012) Fishery and biological implications of fishing spawning aggregations, and the social and economic importance of aggregating fishes. In: Sadovy de Mitcheson Y, Colin PL (eds) Reef fish spawning aggregations: biology, research and management. Springer, London, pp 225–284

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sala E, Ballesteros E, Starr RM (2001) Rapid decline of Nassau grouper spawning aggregations in Belize: fishery management and conservation needs. Fisheries 26:23–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Samoilys MA (1997) Periodicity of spawning aggregations of coral trout Plectropomus leopardus (Pisces: Serranidae) on the northern Great Barrier Reef. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 160:149–159

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shapiro DY (1987) Reproduction in groupers. In: Polovina JJ, Ralston S (eds) Tropical snapper and groupers: biology and fisheries management. Westview Press, Boulder, pp 295–327

    Google Scholar 

  • Starr RM, Sala E, Ballestreros E, Zabala M (2007) Spatial dynamics of the Nassau grouper Epinephelus striatus in a Caribbean atoll. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 343:239–249

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zeller DC (1997) Home range and activity patterns of the coral trout Plectropomus leopardus (Serranidae). Mar Ecol Prog Ser 154:65–77

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zeller DC (1998) Spawning aggregations: patterns of movement of the coral trout Plectropomus leopardus (Serranidae) as determined by ultrasonic telemetry. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 162:253–263

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We express our grateful thanks to K. Kinjo for his assistance in field surveys and especially for his field guiding and piloting of the research boat, T. Yogi, A. Yano, S. Arakaki, Y. Fukuda, G. Suzuki, Y. Kawabata, H. Yamashita and Y. Akita for their assistance with tagging and/or capturing tagged fishes, S. Mamiya for laboratory work and the staff of Research Center of Sub-tropical Fisheries, Seikai National Fisheries Research Institute, for support during the present study. Constructive comments on the manuscript from C.P. Norman were much appreciated. We also thank the fishermen and staff of Yaeyama Fishermen’s Cooperative Association for their kind provision of the recaptured fishes. The present study complies with current laws in Japan.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center for Sub-tropical Fisheries, Seikai National Fisheries Research Institute, Fisheries Research Agency, Fukai-Ota 148-446, Ishigaki, Okinawa, 907-0451, Japan

    Atsushi Nanami & Taku Sato

  2. Okinawa Prefectural Fisheries Research and Extension Center, Kyan 1528, Itoman, Okinawa, 901-0354, Japan

    Itaru Ohta

Authors
  1. Atsushi Nanami
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Itaru Ohta
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Taku Sato
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Atsushi Nanami.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

ESM 1

(PPT 239 kb)

ESM 2

(PPT 79 kb)

ESM 3

(XLS 29 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Nanami, A., Ohta, I. & Sato, T. Estimation of spawning migration distance of the white-streaked grouper (Epinephelus ongus) in an Okinawan coral reef system using conventional tag-and-release. Environ Biol Fish 98, 1387–1397 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-014-0366-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-014-0366-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation