Movement patterns, habitat utilization, home range size and site fidelity of whitesaddle goatfish, Parupeneus porphyreus, in a marine reserve

Suitability of small (< 1 km(2)) marine reserves for protecting a commercia lly important endemic Hawaiian goatfish, Parupeneus porphyreus, was examine d by quantifying goatfish habitat use, home range size and site fidelity in an existing marine reserve (Coconut Island in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii). Five g oatfish equipped with acoustic transmitters were tracked for up to 93 h eac h over 3-14 days. Daytime habitat use patterns of two of these fish were co ntinuously monitored for one month using a fixed hydrophone hardwired to an onshore computer. Acoustically tagged fish showed consistent diel patterns of behavior, refuging in holes in the reef by day and moving over extensiv e areas of sand and coral rubble habitat at night. Remote monitoring of day time habitat use by two goatfish revealed that the same daytime refuge was used by both fish for at least one month (the battery life of the transmitt ers). Home ranges of all fish were within the boundaries of the Coconut Isl and reserve suggesting that even small areas containing suitable habitat ca n make effective reserves for this species. A relatively low abundance of r eproductive size P. porphyreus at Coconut Island in comparison with deeper areas may indicate an ontogenetic shift to deeper habitat in this species.