Performance Report for Cooperative Agreement No: na06oar4810163 for the Period from September 1, 2006 to August 31, 2012 University of Maryland Eastern Shore

5.

The American monkfish or goosefish (Lophius americanus) occurs in the northwest Atlantic Ocean from Canada to Florida to over 800 m depth. Once considered ‘trash fish’, they are now the highest valued finfish in the Northwest Atlantic, and are overfished. Monkfish are divided into Northern and Southern Fishery Management Areas, and assessed as if they were unit stocks, with no genetic interchange, but evidence supporting this policy is lacking. Additionally, information on growth and longevity of, and the extent of cannibalism by large monkfish needed for stock assessments is unavailable. These studies were designed to estimate growth rates, cannibalism, reproductive biology, temperature distribution, and stock structure. Study 1 (Appendices IIa & IIb, 2006-2008) estimated ages of 400 female monkfish (69 to 118 cm) at 8 to 13 years, and annual growth rate was 8.8 cm. Mean GSI values peaked during February through April with another peak in June. Stomach content analysis of ~700 fish showed that skate, monkfish, and mackerel were preferred prey and 5.5% of stomachs contained monkfish remains. Study 2 (Appendix IIc, 2006-2007) compared the distribution of monkfish and seawater temperatures using NEFSC annual bottom trawl data from 1963 to 2008. Compared to the distribution of station data, monkfish occupied cooler temperatures in autumn and warmer temperatures in spring. In the Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB) the areal extent of the preferred springtime temperature range declined by16% from 1968 to 2002, whereas the preferred autumn temperature range expanded by 50% from 1975 to 1981 then returned to 1968 levels in 2001. In the Western Gulf of Maine (W-GOM), springtime temperature preference range was stable from 1968 to 2008 whereas the preferred autumn range decreased by 7%. Monkfish in the S-MAB may experience thermal habitat loss during autumn in response to increasing bottom temperatures. Study 3 (Appendices IIc,IId, 2008-2010) examined genetic variability in monkfish using mitochondrial DNA analysis, and revealed three distinct genetic clades that were spatially distributed and not associated with the two management areas. The results of these studies will be used to improve population assessment and management for monkfish, including estimates of growth rates and cannibalism rates, and potential stock structure. This study has provided training in fish aging, gonadal staging, stomach content, and DNA analysis for several undergraduate and graduate students including Abram Townsend, Belita Nguluwe (UMES), and part of the M.S. thesis of Dan Cullen (UMES) who have spent time working at the NEFSC, Woods Hole, MA. Results formed contributed to the M.S. thesis of Dan Cullen (M.S. 2011, UMES) who is now in a Ph.D. degree program at UMES, and Belita Nguluwe (M.S. student, UMES).

Johnson, A. K., Richards, R. A., Cullen, D.W.*, and S.J. Sutherland (2008). "Growth, reproduction and feeding of large monkfish, Lophius americanus." ICES Journal of Marine Science 65(7): 1306-1315.

In addition to PCBs, mycobacterial infections are serious health threats to striped bass. This study was designed to determine the relationships between polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and immune status in striped bass. In year 1, protocols were developed at UMCES-IMET for use of PCR-RFLP to detect Mycobacterium marinum in striped bass. Experimental studies showed that neither diet (high vs low PUFA) nor injection with M. marinum had a significant effect on in vitro phagocytosis, production of leukotriene B₄, number of tissue granulomas, or spleenal bacterial counts suggesting that the strain of bacteria used in this study was not pathological. Later studies with wild fish (2011-2012) showed a relationship between serious infections, reduced immune response, and lower PUFA levels. In concert with declining populations of Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus), these factors suggest that changes in the diet have contributed to declining health in wild striped bass. These results help define the importance of PUFA-rich prey in the diet of striped bass, and provide a link between diet and natural mortality/disease outbreaks among Chesapeake Bay striped bass, one of the leading fisheries in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S., and are relevant to NOAA NMFS Research Priorities 1 and 2: Research to support fishery conservation and management, and Interdependence of fisheries or stocks of fish. PhD. student Lonnie Gonsalves (UMES) received training in immunology, PCR, microbiology, and fish pathology, and completed his degree in 2012. This project was used to provide training and mentorship for one undergraduate student.

Benthic macrofauna in the Maryland coastal bays (MCBs) were analyzed from April - October 2007 at 9 sites with three habitat traps: sand S, oyster shell OS, and artificial seagrass ASG. Diversity of benthic macrofauna was significantly lower near urban sites, and lower in S than OS or ASG despite location of the traps. Oyster shell and seagrass habitats support greater abundance and diversity of macroinvertebrate prey species. Modeling using Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) and the Ecospace module showed that proportions of seagrass and oyster shell habitats were strongly correlated with diversity of the coastal lagoon system over 20 yr. Habitat structure promotes high diversity in the MCBs despite environmental conditions, possibly because of enriched macroinvertebrate prey communities and refugia from predation. Principal prey items of spot, Leiostomus xanthurus were polychaetes and crustaceans, and modeling of trophic webs in the MCBs using EwE showed that loss of seagrass habitat has impacts throughout the food web. Higher trophic level species were less influenced by changes in habitat, likely because they tend to be more generalized in diets and habitat preferences. Ecosystem based management is a subject of major interest to NOAA Fisheries scientists, who are developing EwE models for the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and this research supports a similar approach for the MCBs. This project is relevant to the NOAA NMFS Research Priorities 1 and 2: Research to support fishery conservation and management, and Interdependence of fisheries or stocks of fish. The research supported theses for MS students Reginald Black and Ryan Corbin who graduated in 2010 and 2009, respectively.

Love, J. W., Luers, D.F., and B.D. Williams (2009). "Spatiotemporal differences in larval fish ingress to Chincoteague Bay (Maryland) during winter and spring (2004-2007)." Marine Ecology Progress Series 377: 203-212.

Luers, D. F., Love, J.W., and Bath-Martin, G. (2010). "Settlement and pigmentation of glass eels Anguilla rostrata (Lesueur) in a coastal lagoon." Environmental Biology of Fishes 90(1): 19-27.
SCHOLARLY PRODUCTIVITY

From September 1, 2006 to August 31, 2012, LMRCSC students and faculty made 601 (mean=120.2/yr) presentations (oral and poster) at scientific meetings (Table 14), published 161 (mean=32.2/yr) articles in refereed journals, and book chapters (Table 15). listed list of the presentations is shown in Appendix III, whereas publications are in Appendix IV.