Adult Black Sea Bass (Centropristis striata) winter survival and lipid accumulation in wild-caught fish in Long Island Sound in Sept of 2022 to Apr of 2023

This dataset contains adult Black Sea Bass (Centropristis striata) winter survival and lipid accumulation in wild-caught fish in Long Island Sound (September 2022 to April 2023). This dataset includes data from fish collected concurrently with those used in a related mesocosm experiment (run Oct 2022 to Apr 2023), with fish collected at the same reef (see 'Related Datasets' section). Study description: We experimentally examined overwintering potential of adult Black Sea Bass (Centropristis striata), an ecologically and economically important fish that seasonally migrates from offshore overwintering grounds to coastal feeding and nursery areas. We collected adults from Long Island Sound in September 2022 and reared them in a laboratory-mesocosm experiment under a contemporary seasonal temperature profile for Long Island Sound (LIS; October 2022 – April 2023) to assess their potential to survive and accumulate lipids throughout the winter. We also fed experimental adults two diet items (blue mussels and Atlantic herring), which are commonly found in Long Island Sound. In addition, we sampled fish from the same reef in LIS at the start (October) and end (April) of the experiment to identify lipid dynamics in wild fish that migrate offshore. Experimental C. striata growth throughout the winter was negligible with high mortality (> 50% observed). While survivors fed herring had higher tissue lipid contents, mortality was 2x higher than for fish fed mussels. In contrast, to the experimental fish, wild-captured fish in the spring had higher gonadosmatic indices than that for survivors across both diet treatments, which was most similar to fall-captured fish. While some fish survived throughout the winter, current winter bottom temperatures still preclude a year-round C. striata presence within Long Island Sound. Overwintering inshore is still disadvantageous compared to seasonally migrating due to surviving experimental fish having lower gonadosomatic indices, suggesting that the offshore overwintering period is a time to build energy reserves. However, as coastal waters continue to warm, changing conditions could lead populations to become year-round residents of Long Island Sound, thus increasing C. striata abundance.本数据集收录了2022年9月至2023年4月期间，在长岛湾（Long Island Sound）野生捕获的成年黑海鲈（Centropristis striata）的冬季存活率与脂质积累数据。本数据集的采样对象，与2022年10月至2023年4月开展的一项相关中型生态箱实验（mesocosm experiment）所用的鱼类为同期采集的同礁种群鱼类，详见“相关数据集”章节。 研究概况： 本研究针对成年黑海鲈（Centropristis striata）的越冬潜力开展了实验探究。该鱼种兼具重要生态与经济价值，会季节性从近海越冬场洄游至近岸觅食与育幼区域。研究团队于2022年9月从长岛湾采集成年黑海鲈，于2022年10月至2023年4月期间，在模拟长岛湾当前季节温度梯度的实验室中型生态箱系统中开展饲养实验，以评估其整个冬季的存活能力与脂质积累潜力。同时，研究团队为实验用成鱼投喂两种长岛湾常见饵料：蓝贻贝与大西洋鲱。 此外，本研究在实验起始（10月）与结束（4月）阶段，于长岛湾的同一礁区采集野生鱼类样本，以解析洄游至近海的野生种群的脂质动态变化。整个冬季期间，实验用黑海鲈的生长量可忽略不计，且死亡率极高（观测死亡率超过50%）。投喂大西洋鲱的存活个体的组织脂质含量更高，但该组的死亡率是投喂蓝贻贝组的2倍。 与实验用鱼相比，春季采集的野生个体的性腺指数（gonadosomatic index）在两种饵料处理组的存活个体中均更高，且该数值与秋季采集的野生个体最为接近。尽管部分个体可顺利越冬，但当前冬季的底层水温仍使得长岛湾无法全年维持黑海鲈种群的存在。与季节性洄游相比，在近岸越冬仍处于劣势——实验存活个体的性腺指数更低，这表明近海越冬阶段是黑海鲈积累能量储备的时期。然而，随着近岸海水持续升温，环境变化可能促使该种群成为长岛湾的全年定居种群，进而提升黑海鲈的种群丰度。