DOI: 10.5061/dryad.1ns1rn94z
title: Impact of artificial reef deployment on reef fish movement and community assemblages

description: Artificial reefs provide critical habitat for fish in areas lacking
 benthic structure, yet our understanding of how artificial reefs function
 and develop is limited. Here, changes in fish community assemblages were
 monitored using baited remote underwater video (BRUV) surveys before and
 after a new artificial reef was deployed in the northern Gulf of Mexico.
 Movement of red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) and gray snapper (Lutjanus
 griseus) between nearby oil and gas platforms (n=3) and the new artificial
 reef was examined using acoustic telemetry, and residency was calculated
 for fish associated with both structure types. Fish community development
 at the artificial reef site was slow despite close proximity to existing
 habitat, and fish communities at the artificial reef site did not differ
 from control sites (unconsolidated substrate) one year after reef
 deployment. Residency of red snapper and gray snapper at the artificial
 reef was surprisingly low with most tagged fish emigrating rapidly, and no
 tagged fishes from the surrounding platforms were detected moving to the
 artificial reef during the initial eight months following artificial reef
 deployment. While residency was much higher at the platforms, a major
 hurricane (Hurricane Ida) passed directly over the sites and led to large
 numbers of tagged fishes emigrating from the study area. Results highlight
 an artificial reef with limited fish community development and low
 residency after one year despite close proximity to existing habitats.
 Given the presence of seasonal benthic hypoxia in this region, findings
 suggest that artificial reefs with limited vertical relief may offer
 sub-optimal habitat for reef fish in comparison to the substantial
 vertical relief offered by standing platforms, reducing the potential
 benefits to reef fish. Given the rapid decommissioning of oil and gas
 infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico, this study has significant
 implications for rigs-to-reefs programs as well as artificial reef siting
 and design.
description: # Impact of artificial reef deployment on reef fish movement and community
 assemblages Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.1ns1rn94z](10.5061/dryad.1ns1rn94z) ## Description of the
 data and file structure Data_ReefFishMovementCommunityAssebmlages.zip
 contains the following compressed files.  BRUV-richness-abundance.csv =
 file containing counts of species observed during BRUV sampling. Columns
 are:  * Date: day the BRUV sample was recorded * Season: moniker for the
 season the BRUV sampling occurred during * Station: where the BRUV sample
 was recorded (C refers to control, R refers to reef, and P refers to
 platform) * Type: structure type of the location where the BRUV sample was
 recorded * Camera: whether the BRUV sample was recorded on a shallower
 (10m) or deeper (17m) camera * Ariopsis_felis *... *Peprilus_paru: these
 columns are counts for each species that were observed during the BRUV
 sample * TotalCount: total number of individuals observed during the BRUV
 sample * TotalSpecies: total number of species observed during the BRUV
 sample Platform_Residency.csv = this file provides details and data from
 the 40 reef fish that were tagged to evaluate movement and residency at
 the study's platform locations. The columns are: * FishID: unique
 moniker given to each fish that was tagged * Species: which species an
 individual belonged to, either red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) or gray
 snapper (Lutjanus griseus) * Fork Length: fork length, in mm, for each
 tagged fish * Location Tagged: where each tagged fish was caught, tagged
 and released at out of the three study platforms * Date Tagged: day each
 fish was tagged and released * Days Detected: number of days each
 fish's acoustic tag was detected at the study site * Days Monitored:
 number of days each fish was considered 'at large' during the
 study, typically was equivalent to the battery life of each acoustic tag *
 Residency: the residency index (0-1) for each tagged fish determine by the
 ratio of days detected:days monitored. Residency was not calculated for
 fish detected less than 48 hours, this is denoted with NA for those
 individuals.  * Days Detected PostHurricane: number of days each
 fish's acoustic tag was detected at the study site following
 Hurricane Ida * Days Monitored PostHurricane: number of days each fish was
 considered 'at large' during the study following Hurricane Ida *
 PostHurricane Residency: the post-hurricane residency index (0-1) for each
 tagged fish determine by the ratio of days detected:days monitored
 following Hurricane Ida. Post-hurricane residency was not calculated for
 fish only detected prior to Hurricane Ida, this is denoted with NA in this
 column for those individuals.  * Included in Analysis: whether or not a
 tagged fish was included in residency analysis Reef_Residency.csv = this
 file provides details and data from the 20 reef fish that were tagged to
 evaluate movement and residency at the study's artificial reef
 location. The columns are: * FishID: unique moniker given to each fish
 that was tagged * Species: which species an individual belonged to, either
 red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) or gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus) *
 Fork Length: fork length, in mm, for each tagged fish * Date Tagged: day
 each fish was tagged and released * Release Method: how each fish was
 released post-tagging, either by a descender device (SeaQualizer) or using
 a release cage * Days Detected: number of days each fish's acoustic
 tag was detected at the study site * Days Monitored: number of days each
 fish was considered 'at large' during the study, typically was
 equivalent to the battery life of each acoustic tag * Residency: the
 residency index (0-1) for each tagged fish determine by the ratio of days
 detected:days monitored. Residency was not calculated for fish detected
 less than 48 hours or that were predated, this is denoted with NA for
 those individuals.  * Fate: fate of tagged individuals. Predation was
 determined by GoPro footage recording during cage releases or damage to
 SeaQualizer and indicates a fish was predated upon by a shark or dolphin.
 Fish that were detected at the study reef then left were considered
 emigrated. Fish with consistent pressure sensor readings from their
 acoustic tag were interpreted as either mortalities or tag loss events.
 Fish that were detected throughout the study period were considered
 alive.  * Included in Analysis: whether or not a tagged fish was included
 in residency analysis