Meeting Abstract
Modeling annual biomass production in fish populations is crucial for resource management and conservation. For example, improved estimates of secondary productivity in juvenile and adult cohorts are important metrics for evaluating Essential Fish Habitat and Marine Protected Area management. We evaluated the fishery value of eelgrass within the Blue Cavern State Marine Conservation Area by measuring the inferred growth of juvenile kelp bass over a 2-year period. Using Akaike’s Information Criterion, the preferred model for predicting kelp bass abundance in eelgrass beds includes eelgrass length and density, but not eelgrass frequency. This information is useful in designing surveys that evaluate eelgrass function as both a food resource and nursery habitat. Using existing production models, kelp bass length and abundance data were converted to secondary productivity with values ranging from 0 to 189 g m2 yr-1 (average 28 ± 4 g m2; yr-1). This scope of annual production values highlights the importance of standardizing sampling times relative to fish recruitment events and habitat seasonality. This study improves the accuracy of modeling secondary productivity and quantifies the nursery value of eelgrass for juvenile kelp bass while highlighting the importance of accounting for seasonal variation to better inform management decisions.
