Juvenile Bonefish Habitat Preference Mesocosms

As part of the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust / FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Bonefish Reproduction Research Project, I wanted to look at benthic habitat preferences of juvenile bonefish - the structural composition of a nursery. Guiding Link Foundation intern, Mason Thurman (now Clemson Ph.D. student), we collected juvenile bonefish (Albula spp.) from the Indian River Lagoon, FL and conducted a quad-replicated mesocosm experiment for benthic habitat preference, inter-species shoaling preference, and predator response. Juvenile bonefish preferred unstructured (sand) and minimally structured (Halodule wrightii) benthos, mixed-species shoaling, and still preferred unstructured bottom during predator avoidance.

Juvenile Bonefish foraging among Mojarra.

Variable structure was represented by artificial seagrasses, high structure = Thalassia testudinum and low structure = Halodule wrightii, separated by corridors.

Four 4 cubic meter large-scale production research tanks were situated atop platforms with a centerdrain flowthrough saltwater system.

With the help of the whole Ajemian lab, we tied artificial seagrass shoots in a randomized pie-grid at 250 shoots per meter squared.

Completed mesocosm structure, which took three weeks to build and six months of maintaining. Thanks to Pete Stock, Chris Robinson, Paul Wills, Matt Ajemian, Jonathon Banakos, Tony Cianciotto, Mason Thurman, Jessie Stevens, Brianna Cahill, Michelle Edwards, Richard Baptiste, Zack Nilles, and Erik Perna.

Seining for Bonefish in the Indian River Lagoon, FL.