Jennifer Rehage

Florida International University | FIU · Department of Earth and Environment

The Florida Everglades is a critically important, but highly threatened ecosystem that is becoming increasingly susceptible to the invasion of non-native species. This study investigated the ecological role of the invasive peacock eel (Macrognathus siamensis) within this ecosystem using 15 years of electrofishing data and stable isotope analysis. W...

Leisure boating is becoming more popular in developed societies, stressing seagrass systems. Spatial management and marine zoning, along with education, enforcement, and appropriate signage can reduce this stress. Yet, achieving conservation goals with marine zoning depends on social and organizational factors. Coproduction models that work collabo...

Cross-site comparison of fiddler crab resource use along the U.S. Atlantic coast Eric Gomez Gonzalez, James A. Nelson, James W. Sturges, Jennifer S. Rehage, Rolando O. Santos, and W. Ryan James Within the last decade, there has been in a northern expansion in the population range of the fiddler crab species Minuca pugnax. This expansion is most l...

Social‐ecological systems like fisheries provide food, livelihoods and recreation. However, lack of data and its integration into governance hinders their conservation and management. Stakeholders possess site‐specific knowledge crucial for confronting these challenges. There is increasing recognition that Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) is va...

Natural and anthropogenic disturbances have led to rapid declines in the amount and quality of available habitat in many ecosystems. Many studies have focused on how habitat loss has affected the composition and configuration of habitats, but there have been fewer studies that investigate how this loss affects ecosystem function. We investigated ho...

Social-ecological systems like fisheries provide food, livelihoods, and recreation. However, lack of data and its integration into governance hinders their conservation and management. Stakeholders possess site-specific knowledge crucial for confronting these challenges. There is increasing recognition that Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) is v...

The Florida Everglades is a critically important, but highly threatened ecosystem that is becoming increasingly susceptible to the invasion of non-native species. This study investigated the ecological role of the invasive peacock eel ( Macrognathus siamensis ) within this ecosystem using 19 years of electrofishing data. We investigated the populat...

Most research on pharmaceutical presence in the environment to date has focused on 43 smaller scale assessments of freshwater and riverine systems, relying mainly on assays 44 of water samples, while studies in marine ecosystems and of exposed biota are sparse. 45 This study investigated the pharmaceutical burden in bonefish (Albula vulpes), an 46...

Monitoring nekton using multiple types of gear over a range of estuarine habitats is necessary for assessing changes in ecosystems, the effects of natural and anthropogenic disturbances, and management related to habitat restoration and protection. To assess the utility of two types of gear (seines and baited-remote underwater videos [BRUVs]) used...

Objective Fisheries provide countless benefits to human populations but face many threats ranging from climate change to overfishing. Despite these threats and an increase in fishing pressure globally, most stocks remain unassessed and data limited. An abundance of data‐limited assessment methods exists, but each has different data requirements, ca...

Understanding movement and dispersal is critical for fisheries management and conservation, but many studies rely on tagging and telemetry, which can be costly and labor-intensive. Recent research on Atlantic bonefish (Albula vulpes) has shown that gill microbiomes vary among populations, raising the possibility that microbial communities might pro...

Coastal nutrient loading is a primary driver of changes to habitat structure, species diversity, and increases in hypoxia and harmful algal blooms in estuaries worldwide. The difficulty of identifying non-point source inputs of nutrients often hinders the management and mitigation of these nutrient loads. Using stable isotopes, this study aimed to...

The Atlantic goliath grouper ( Epinephelus itajara ) is the largest grouper species in the Atlantic and exhibits high site fidelity and limited range of movement. By 1990, the goliath grouper population in US waters had declined approximately 95% relative to unfished levels, leading to a harvest ban in 1990. Since then, the south Florida population...

Seagrass beds in Florida Bay are home to many ecologically and economically important species. Anthropogenic press perturbation via alterations in hydrology and pulse perturbations such as drought can lead to hypersalinity, hypoxia, and sulfide toxicity, ultimately causing seagrass die-offs. Florida Bay has undergone two large-scale seagrass die-of...

Background Spawning migrations are a widespread phenomenon among fishes, often occurring in response to environmental conditions prompting movement into reproductive habitats (migratory cues). However, for many species, individual fish may choose not to migrate, and research suggests that conditions preceding the spawning season (migratory primers)...

Recreational fisheries are complex social–ecological systems that are influenced by a variety of increasing stressors. In Florida (USA), recreational fishing is a US$9.2 billion industry and a vital aspect of the state's culture. However, many targeted species remain unregulated and understudied, which hinders identifying population declines or imp...

Developing conservation and management strategies for species with complex life histories, broad spatial distributions, and long lifespans is notoriously difficult. Too often managers cannot identify critical habitats nor vulnerable life stages because of the sheer scale of migration or uncertainty about connectivity among populations. Advancements...

Tropical and subtropical coastal flats are shallow regions of the marine environment at the intersection of land and sea. These regions provide myriad ecological goods and services, including recreational fisheries focused on flats-inhabiting fishes such as bonefish, tarpon, and permit. The cascading effects of climate change have the potential to...

Traditional approaches to dietary assessment in fish necessitate the collection of stomach contents through either gastric lavage or lethal sampling. The Atlantic bonefish (Albula vulpes) is an economically important sportfish in the western central Atlantic region for which a minimally invasive, non-lethal alternative to morphological dietary asse...

The recreational flats fishery (bonefish, tarpon, and permit) in South Florida is economically and culturally important and has declined recently for unknown reasons. Biscayne Bay is a shallow subtropical lagoon system with a flats fishery bordered by a large urban center. The Bay also supports commercial fisheries, including the pink shrimp bait a...

Pink shrimp (Farfantepenaeus duorarum) are an economically important species in Biscayne Bay, FL, and support both food and bait commercial fisheries. Pink shrimp are also an important food resource for higher trophic level finfish species. This includes those fishes that support Florida’s iconic and highly valued recreational flats fisheries—which...

Atlantic Bonefish (Albula vulpes) are economically important due to their popularity with recreational anglers. In the State of Florida, USA, bonefish population numbers declined by approximately 60% between the 1990s and 2015. Habitat loss, water quality impairment, chemical inputs, and other anthropogenic factors have been implicated as causes, b...

Recreational fisheries managers are often challenged by the lack of long-term data to monitor the status and trends of fisheries. Tournament records may provide a useful source of information to identify long-term trends in recreational fisheries. The Bonefish fishery in the Florida Keys (USA) has experienced a long-term and sequential period of de...

Macrophyte foundation species provide both habitat structure and primary production, and loss of these habitats can alter species interactions and lead to changes in energy flow in food webs. Extensive seagrass meadows in Florida Bay have recently experienced a widespread loss of seagrass habitat due to a Thalassia testudinum mass mortality event i...

The goals of this study were to generate baseline population dynamics parameters for Gulf of Mexico crevalle jack Caranx hippos and examine the foraging habits of Mississippi and Alabama crevalle jack. Specimens were collected from Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, and age was estimated from sagittal otoliths. Stomachs from some specimens were reta...

The patchy nature of landscapes drives variation in the extent of ecological processes across space. This spatial ecology is critical to our understanding of organism-environmental interactions and conservation, restoration, and resource management efforts. In fisheries, incorporation of the spatial ecology of fishes remains limited, despite its im...

Habitat fragmentation of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) transforms the spatial pattern of seascapes by changing both the total area and spatial configuration of the habitat patches. The ecological effects of SAV seascapes are most often assessed using metrics of biological community composition (e.g., species and assemblage changes). We know co...

Energetic resources and habitat distribution are inherently linked. Energetic resource availability is a major driver of the distribution of consumers, but estimating how much specific habitats contribute to the energetic resource needs of a consumer can be problematic. We present a new approach that combines remote sensing information and stable i...

Seagrasses are threatened worldwide due to anthropogenic and natural disturbances disrupting the multiple feedbacks needed to maintain these ecosystems. If the disturbance is severe enough, seagrass systems may undergo a regime shift to a degraded system state that is resistant to recovery. In Florida Bay, Florida, United States, two recent, large-...

Translational ecology defines a collaborative effort among scientists and stakeholders to rapidly translate environmental problems into action. This approach can be applied in a fisheries management context when information needed to inform regulations is unavailable, yet conservation concerns exist. Our research uses a translational ecology framew...

Data from the Integrated Tracking of Aquatic Animals in the Gulf of Mexico (iTAG) network, and sister networks, were used to evaluate fish movements in the Florida Keys—an extensive reef fish ecosystem just north of Cuba connecting the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. We analysed ~2 million detections for 23 species, ranging from reef fish such a...

Ecosystems across the United States are changing in complex ways that are difficult to predict. Coordinated long‐term research and analysis are required to assess how these changes will affect a diverse array of ecosystem services. This paper is part of a series that is a product of a synthesis effort of the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Long...

Over the last 20 years, innovations have led to the development of exciting new technologies and novel applications of established technologies, collectively increasing the scale, scope, and quality of research possible in tidal marsh systems. Thus, ecological research on marshes is being revolutionized, in the same way as ecological research more...

Marine fish movement plays a critical role in ecosystem functioning and is increasingly studied with acoustic telemetry. Traditionally, this research has focused on single species and small spatial scales. However, integrated tracking networks, such as the Integrated Tracking of Aquatic Animals in the Gulf of Mexico (iTAG) network, are building the...

Metapopulation structure emerges from the dispersal of individuals among spatially distinct patches across a low-quality matrix. While dispersing agents are typically modeled as functionally identical with limited, linear and non-directional dispersal, field studies argue for the incorporation of intraspecific trait variation, such as behavioral, i...

The movement and foraging patterns of consumers are a major driver of nutrient and energy distribution in ecosystems. However, relatively little is known about how intraspecific variation in consumer movement behavior might affect food web coupling and ecosystem processes across landscapes and seascapes. Here we use long-term acoustic telemetry and...

The movement and foraging patterns of consumers are a major driver of nutrient and energy distribution in ecosystems. However, relatively little is known about how intraspecific variation in consumer movement behavior might affect food web coupling and ecosystem processes across landscapes and seascapes. Here we use long‐term acoustic telemetry and...

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/370/6517/670.1

In aquatic systems, refuge habitats increase resistance to drying events and maintain populations in disturbed environments. However, reduced water availability and altered flow regimes threaten the function of these habitats. We conducted a capture‐mark‐recapture (CMR) study, integrating angler citizen science. Our objectives were to quantify vari...

Coastal ecosystems are at great risk from climate change and sea level rise, potentially resulting in loss of habitat and economic costs to society. This study aimed to investigate whether users' attitudes toward climate risks have any bearing on how they value ecosystem services and express the desire to mitigate risks. The study used psychometric...

Energy and habitat distribution are inherently linked. Energy is a major driver of the distribution of consumers, but estimating how much specific habitats contribute to the energetic needs of a consumer can be problematic. We present a new approach that combines remote sensing information and stable isotope ecology to produce maps of energetic res...

The Coastal Everglades presents a broad overview and synthesis of research on the coastal Everglades, a region that includes Everglades National Park, adjacent managed wetlands, and agricultural and urbanizing communities. Contributors for this volume are all collaborators on the Florida Coastal Everglades Long-Term Ecological Research Program (FCE...

Background Hurricanes can have catastrophic effects on coastal ecosystems. To minimize negative impacts of storms, animals may seek shelter in place, move to a nearby refuge, or evacuate long-distances. Crocodilians can be important predators in estuarine habitats, but little is known about how they respond to extreme weather events. We investigate...

The R package yaps was introduced in 2017 as a transparent open source alternative to closed source manufacturer-provided solutions to estimate positions of fish (and other aquatic animals) tagged with acoustic transmitters. Although yaps is open source and transparent, the process from raw detections to final tracks has proved to be challenging fo...

Extreme climate events such as hurricanes can influence the movement and distribution of fish and other aquatic vertebrates. However, our understanding of the scale of movement responses and how they vary across taxa and ecosystems remains incomplete. In this study, we used acoustic telemetry data to investigate the movement patterns of common snoo...

Predicting the responses of animals to environmental changes is a fundamental goal of ecology and is necessary for conservation and management of species. While most studies focus on relatively gradual changes, extreme events may have lasting impacts on populations. Animals respond to major disturbances such as hurricanes by seeking shelter, migrat...

Ecosystem Fragmentation and Connectivity LEGACIES AND FUTURE IMPLICATIONS OF A RESTORED EVERGLADES • A century of fragmentation and novel hydrologic and ecological connectivity characterize the postdrainage Everglades landscape. • Human engineering has dramatically reduced the spatiotemporal patterns of connectivity that characterized the predra...

Habitat selection by organisms can be driven by a number of factors, including the availability of resources. In particular, nutrient enrichment can alter the quality of landscapes, and thus the availability of resources, with implications for consumer movement and habitat use. In coastal ecosystems, eutrophication can affect the production and dis...

The widespread use of electronic tags allows us to ask new questions regarding how and why animal movements vary across ecosystems. Common Snook (Centropomus undecimalis) is a tropical estuarine sportfish that have been well studied throughout the state of Florida, including multiple acoustic telemetry studies. Here, we ask; do the spawning behavio...

Local ecological knowledge (LEK) is a valuable way to capture environmental and/or resource changes when there is an absence of biological data, such as in the case of ‘data-limited’ catch- and-release recreational fisheries. A powerful technique in LEK is the use of key informant interviews that selectively focus the most knowledgeable experts, an...

Bonefish (Albula vulpes) support a world-renowned fishery in South Florida, USA. However, fishing guides and anglers have been reporting significant declines in bonefish angling quality over that past three decades. In the absence of any long-term bonefish stock and ecosystem assessments, the cause of this decline in the fishery is unclear. Here we...

Spatial data are key to fishery management; however, most often the spatial distribution of marine populations and fishing dynamics are poorly documented, especially for recreational fish species. The combination of fisheries-dependent data (FDD) obtained from logbooks, and local ecological knowledge (LEK) gathered from key stakeholders could be a...

Local ecological knowledge (LEK) can be a valuable approach to fill in knowledge gaps in data-limited systems. Recent research has aimed to make LEK more quantitative-a key step to better integration of LEK into fisheries science and management. Here, we used LEK to a) quantify changes in bonefishing quality over time in South Florida as perceived...

Identifying the relative importance of various nursery areas is critical for understanding the ecological roles of diverse juvenile habitats, as well as for the sustainable management of fisheries and coastal resources. Recent field collections suggest that a portion of the bonefish (Albula vulpes) population in South Florida may be using nearshore...

The recreational, catch and release fishery for fishes that inhabit shallow-water, coastal marine habitats in tropical and sub-tropical regions (called the flats fishery) is economically valuable and increasingly perceived as a sustainable ecotourism pursuit. However, knowledge of many aspects of target species (such as bonefish, tarpon and permit)...

Interdisciplinary research is increasingly called upon to find solutions to complex sustainability problems, yet co-creating usable knowledge can be challenging. This article offers broad lessons for conducting interdisciplinary science from the South Florida Water, Sustainability, and Climate Project (SFWSC), a 5-year project funded by the U.S. Na...

Plasticity in life-history traits and behaviors allows organisms to track spatial environmental variation, such as that resulting from a latitudinal gradient. In estuaries, hydrological patterns can vary greatly with latitude, causing variable habitat use patterns across a species' range. For Common Snook (Centropomus undecimalis) a large euryhalin...

Understanding the nature of migratory behaviors within animal populations is critical to develop and refine conservation and management plans. However, tracking migratory marine animals across life stages and over multiple years is inherently difficult to achieve, especially for highly migratory species. In this paper, we explore the use of acousti...

South Florida's water infrastructure and ecosystems are under pressure from socio-economic growth. Understanding the region's water resources management tradeoffs is essential for developing effective adaptation strategies to cope with emerging challenges such as climate change and sea level rise, which are expected to affect many other regions in...

This research develops an integrated methodology to determine the economic value to anglers of recreational fishery ecosystem services in Everglades National Park that could result from different water management scenarios. The study first used bio-hydrological models to link managed freshwater inflows to indicators of fishery productivity and ecos...

Recreational fisheries can be prone to severe declines, yet these fisheries, particularly catch-and-release, are often data-limited, constraining our ability to conduct stock assessments. A combination of catch and effort indices derived from fisheries-dependent data (FDD) gathered from fishing logbooks could be a powerful approach to inform these...

Model selection process to simplify the initial full CATCH model. Variables included: Year (Yr), Month, hours fished (HRSF), number of fisherman (NFMEN), first and second axis of Principal Coordinate Analysis based on species abundance (PCO1 and PCO2) and presence (PCO1.2 and PCO2.2). Asterisks are illustrating the variables that were included in e...

Model selection process to simplify the initial full PTRIPS model. Variables included: Year (Yr), Month, hours fished (HRSF), number of fisherman (NFMEN), first and second axis of Principal Coordinate Analysis based on species abundance (PCO1 and PCO2) and presence (PCO1.2 and PCO2.2). Asterisks are illustrating the variables that were included in...

Process to simplify the initial CATCH mixed model (CATCH1 + random(Season)). This process was performed after identifying the mixed model as the most fitted model structure for CATCH. Variables included: Year (Yr), Month, hours fished (HRSF), number of fisherman (NFMEN), first and second axis of Principal Coordinate Analysis based on species abunda...

Proportion of positive trips when targeted from 1980 to 2014. The proportion consisted of the total number of trips that caught bonefish when targeted (Total of positive trips) divided by the total of trips that reported bonefish as the main targeted species (Total of targeted trips). (DOCX)