Using Acoustic Telemetry to Understand Connectivity of Gray’s Reef National Sanctuary to the U.S. Atlantic Coastal Ocean NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 259

This study analyzed nearly ten years of acoustic telemetry monitoring at Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary, to understand its role in fish movements along the U.S. Atlantic coast. Designated in 1981, Gray’s Reef lies 19 miles off the coast of Georgia where water depths are ~60-70 feet and the habitat is comprised of a mosaic of ledges, flat live-bottom, and unconsolidated sediments. Biotic communities there ares easonally influenced by warm waters from the south and cooler temperate waters from the north. The unique geographic location and complex habitat provided by Gray’s Reef attracts many transient fish species, however a quantitative understanding of the timing and frequency of their presence is lacking. Here, we identify all transient species that were detected by telemetry receivers at the sanctuary from 2008 to 2017, summarize the timing and seasonality of their visits, and discuss their connectivity to the broader coastal Atlantic ecosystem. 2019 Funded by NCCOS Project 703 NOAA Contract No. EA133C-17-BA-0062 with CSS Inc NOS (National Ocean Service) NCCOS (National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science) Submitted https://doi.org/10.25923/r2ma-5m96 Public Domain 1935