Temporal dynamics, residency and site fidelity of spawning aggregations of a herbivorous tropical reef fish Siganus sutor Bijoux Jude auteur aut IRD Dagorn Laurent auteur aut IRD Berke G. auteur aut IRD Cowley P. D. auteur aut IRD Soria Marc auteur aut IRD Gaertner Jean-Claude auteur aut IRD Robinson J. auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf born digital access The shoemaker spinefoot Siganus sutor is a fast-growing, short-lived, gonochorist and herbivorous reef fish that forms transient fish spawning aggregations (FSAs). In the Seychelles, FSAs of this species occur monthly between September and June around the full moon. To study the spawning aggregation dynamics of S. sutor, 39 reproductively active individuals were acoustically tagged and monitored at 3 known FSA sites (Pate Polite, Pate Desire and Pate Dividi) off the west coast of Praslin island (Seychelles) between October 2010 and April 2011. The presence and absence of tagged fish at the 3 sites were monitored using moored arrays of passive acoustic receivers, while the density of fish at the FSAs was quantified using underwater visual census (UVC). Most tagged fish (87.0%) detected in more than 1 spawning period showed fidelity to single spawning sites. Predominantly, tagged individuals arrived at FSA sites at dawn and departed at dusk. Spawning residency times at FSA sites ranged from 0.02 to 16.1 d. At Pate Polite, residency times were higher in the first half of the spawning season. Residency times were often several-fold shorter than aggregation duration which, when combined with patterns in arrival and departure times, indicates high turnover of fish within aggregations. The findings of this study provide information needed for emerging co-management schemes that aim to sustain this socio-economically important fishery. specialized Fish spawning aggregation Siganus sutor Acoustic telemetry Residency time Site fidelity Seychelles SEYCHELLES 034 036 Marine Ecology Progress Series 475 233-247 2013 0171-8630 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010060698 10.3354/meps10113 0171-8630 [F B010060698] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010060698 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/intranet/publi/2013/03/010060698.pdf Accès réservé (Intranet de l'IRD) IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2013-04-02 2017-08-23 fdi:010060698 fre