Investigating the efficacy of a proposed marine protected area for the Endangered humphead wrasse Cheilinus undulatus at a remote island group in Seychelles

Authors

Ryan Daly
Clare A. Keating
Andrew E. Gray
Lauren R. Peel
Luke Gordon
James S.E. Lea
Christopher R. Clarke
Kevin C. Weng, Virginia Institute of Marine ScienceFollow

Document Type

Article

Department/Program

Virginia Institute of Marine Science

Publication Date

2020

Journal

Endangered Species Research

Volume

42

First Page

7

Last Page

20

Abstract

The humphead wrasse Cheilinus undulatus is an iconic, ecologically important and Endangered fish species associated with coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific region. Due to its large size and complex life history characteristics, it is vulnerable to overfishing and has undergone substantial population declines in parts of its range. Knowledge of the species’ movement ecology is currently limited to only 2 previous studies, and very little is known about populations in the western Indian Ocean. The present study aimed to use passive acoustic telemetry to investigate the importance of a remote coral reef to a population of humphead wrasse in the Republic of Seychelles, and subsequently assess the efficacy of a proposed marine protected area at this location for protection of the species. Tagged fish (n = 20) exhibited persistent (>500 d) site fidelity, with low dispersal distances (mean ± SD: 6.44 ± 4.0 km) and restricted core activity spaces (50% Brownian bridge kernel utilization density: 0.91 ± 0.61 km²). Additionally, the study site was home to a group of large (total length 97.9 ± 20.6 cm) and currently unexploited humphead wrasse that showed long-term predictable site fidelity and thus could be vulnerable to over-exploitation. The establishment of a proposed no-take marine protected area at the study site would encompass the core home range area of all tagged humphead wrasse and could effectively conserve this stronghold of Endangered fish to ensure the persistence of the species in Seychelles waters.

DOI

doi: 10.3354/esr01035

Keywords

Humphead wrasse · Cheilinus undulatus · Home range · Spatial ecology · Coral reef · Marine protected area · Acoustic telemetry

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Daly, Ryan; Keating, Clare A.; Gray, Andrew E.; Peel, Lauren R.; Gordon, Luke; Lea, James S.E.; Clarke, Christopher R.; and Weng, Kevin C., Investigating the efficacy of a proposed marine protected area for the Endangered humphead wrasse Cheilinus undulatus at a remote island group in Seychelles (2020). Endangered Species Research, 42, 7-20.

doi: 10.3354/esr01035