Publications

This paper summarizes research done as part of the Grouper Moon Project to understand sound made by several species of grouper. Many fishes produce calls during spawning that aid in species and mate recognition. When multiple sound-producing species inhabit an area, the detection range may decrease and limit call function. Acoustic partitioning, the separation of calls in time, space, or spectral frequency, can minimize interference among species and provide information about fish behavior and ecology, including possible response to increasing anthropogenic noise. The authors investigated acoustic partitioning among 4 sound-producing epinephelids, Nassau Grouper Red Hind, Black Grouper, and Yellowfin Grouper, using passive acoustic data collected at the mass spawning aggregation site on the west end of Little Cayman in the Cayman Islands during the spawning seasons of 2015 to 2017. Results indicate separation in space and time between species calls, which aids in acoustic partitioning. When this separation did not occur, unique call structures were present, which may aid in effective intraspecies communication.

Much of the science done by the Grouper Moon Project's collaborative research team is focused on gaining a better understanding Nassau Grouper populations in the Cayman Islands through studying their spawning aggregations; however, long-term acoustic tags (tracking pingers) allow us to gather information on how these fish behave at their home reefs outside of the spawning season. Nassau Grouper are known to be solitary and territorial. But during winter full moons, the fish leave their home site and travel, sometimes long distances, to a spawning aggregation, where they stay for up to 14 days. In this study, Grouper Moon scientists used tagging data to look at movement behavior and vertical habitat use. They found that most Nassau Grouper tend to return to the same home reef following spawning, but that the areas occupied at home reefs can change through time. In particular, they found that larger fish tend to occupy deeper areas than smaller fish, and fish will generally move to deeper reef areas over time. They also found that Nassau Grouper are more likely to be active at dawn and dusk than other times of the day, likely due to feeding activities. This information is adding to what we know about this iconic species, and will help support management of Nassau Grouper populations throughout the Caribbean. To find out more about the Grouper Moon Project, visit www.REEF.org/groupermoonproject.

This study published by Friends of MacArthur Beach State Park supports previous research suggesting that participation in citizen-science programs can significantly enhance student learning and attitudes about science, while simultaneously promoting environmental stewardship. Since 1995, MacArthur Beach has been participating in REEF's Volunteer Fish Survey Project. In 2012, MacArthur Beach incorporated the REEF surveys into the park’s summer camp curriculum to increase monitoring efforts while also using the program as an educational tool. The utilization of the REEF program in their summer camps provides a valuable, cost-effective way of monitoring the environmental health of its nearshore marine ecosystem, while simultaneously providing the potential to have measurable impacts on the attitudes and actions of the participants. In this study, the authors used the MacArthur Beach summer camp program to quantify student learning gains and changes in attitudes toward the environment through a research-based experiential learning activity. Their findings show that providing students with the opportunity to collect scientific data through citizen-science programs can increase their understanding of local ecosystems, enhance their observation skills, and can improve their understanding of the scientific process.