Peter Auster

University of Connecticut & Mystic Aquarium · Marine Sciences & RAVS

Acoustic monitoring is increasingly used to assess marine mammals and terrestrial animals that vocalize, such as birds. An acoustic complexity index (ACI) has been used as a measure of biodiversity but rarely applied to measure biodiversity in reef communities. Here we use passive acoustic recordings at select reefs in GRNMS from 2017 to demonstrat...

Aldo Leopold advised that "[t]he first rule of intelligent tinkering is to keep all the pieces." As we collectively design and implement approaches for the restoration of coral reefs, we need to consider all the interacting elements that comprise the ecosystems around those reefs, notably fish communities and the diversity of interactions between s...

A research expedition to address ecology of the epipelagic region of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument was conducted 19-28 July 2024 aboard the RV Connecticut.

Robust impact assessments (IAs) for deep-sea fisheries are essential for safeguarding deep-sea ecosystems against the impacts of bottom fishing. In the high seas, United Nations Resolution commitments require States (inde-pendently or through Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs)) to conduct IAs to evaluate if fishing is putting vulne...

Numerous policy and international frameworks consider that “destructive fishing” hampers efforts to reach sustainability goals. Though ubiquitous, “destructive fishing” is undefined and therefore currently immeasurable. Here we propose a definition developed through expert consultation: “Destructive fishing is any fishing practice that causes irrec...

Demersal deep-sea fish assemblages from islands and seamounts are poorly described, even in the Hawaiian archipelago. Knowledge across all depths, in similar settings, is even sparser for other archipelagos in the central and western Pacific. However, recent remotely operated vehicle (ROV) explorations and archived video from human-occupied submers...

Predation by piscivores can influence the structure of fish communities, directly by consuming prey and indirectly by inducing fear responses that modify prey behavior (Estes et al. 2011). How predators respond to changes in prey distribution and behavior is an important element for understanding the reciprocal relationships that define the dynamic...

Oyster aquaculture gear may augment natural seafloor by providing structured habitat for economically important fish species. Underwater video census was used to assess fish abundance and community composition on eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) shelf and bag style aquaculture off-bottom cages and within natural rock reef habitat. During 2018...

The main aim of WKVMEBM 2022 was to develop and document an operational evidence-based procedure for the production of recurrent ICES advice on VMEs.

The intensity of deep-sea fisheries on the high seas and the impacts on the marine environment call for effective measures to ensure that fishing does not compromise the commitments established for protecting biodiversity in the deep ocean by the United Nations. In order to prevent significant adverse impacts (SAIs) on vulnerable marine ecosystems...

The joint ICES/NAFO Working Group on Deep-water Ecology (WGDEC) collates new information on the distribution of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) for use in annual ICES advisory processes and the development of new methods/techniques to further our understanding of deep-sea ecosystems, and further suggests novel management tools to ensure human a...

Climate change is impacting the function and distribution of habitats used by marine, coastal, and diadromous species. These impacts often exacerbate the anthropogenic stressors that habitats face, particularly in the coastal environment. We conducted a climate vulnerability assessment of 52 marine, estuarine, and riverine habitats in the Northeast...

Multi-tiered oyster aquaculture cages may provide habitat for fish assemblages similar to natural structured seafloor. Methods were developed to assess fish assemblages associated with aquaculture gear and boulder habitat using underwater video census combined with environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding. Action cameras were mounted on 3 aquaculture...

One of today’s greatest conservation challenges is balancing policies, laws, and management strategies established to achieve economic goals that depend on extracting ocean resources with those established to conserve marine biodiversity. We use the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument (NCSM) as a case study to explore the conse...

The concept of “vulnerable marine ecosystem” (VME) was included in United Nations (UN) General Assembly Resolution 61/105 as part of an international effort to minimize the effects of seafloor fisheries on the high seas. However, defining a VME was left to be developed by technical guidance to the UN Food and Agricultural Organization. In that venu...

Predation is an important process influencing the structure of fish communities. There are multiple approaches used to quantify predatory interactions, and all approaches are beneficial but have their limitations. For example, food habit studies only represent results of successful predation events, direct observations by divers are time limited by...

Marine animal forests (MAFs) are constituted by dense aggregations of epibenthic and emergent animals, chiefly members of Porifera (sponges), Cnidaria (hydrozoans and anthozoans, including corals), and Bryozoa. Their three-dimensional structure and collective spatial complexity provide a diversity of habitats for associated fauna. Dispersed throug...

In this paper we: 1) describe VME indicator species as best as they are known from seamounts in the Pacific; 2) examine the ecosystem concept and how it is applied in the context of VME indicator species and the distribution of VMEcosystems on seamounts and similar features and the factors that might influence their local placement; 3) assess what...

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (GBNPP) in Southeast Alaska is a system of glaciated fjords with a unique and recent history of deglaciation. As such, it can serve as a natural laboratory for studying patterns of distribution in marine communities with proximity to glacial influence. In order to examine the changes in fjord-based coral commu...

Using a combination of data obtained from high-definition still images, video, and specimens collected during human-occupied submersible and remotely-operated vehicle dives spanning the period 2003 to 2014, we provide the first detailed characterization of the megabenthic assemblages in the lower bathyal on the New England and Corner Rise Seamounts...

The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument (NECSMNM) was designated by President Barack Obama in 2016, using his authority under the Antiquities Act of 1906. The Act allows a President to proclaim as national monuments "historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest" t...

We observed sea turtles with time-lapse video cameras (deployed for studies of fish behavior during June 2017) at "live-bottom" reefs in depths of 18-20 m within Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Georgia, USA (NW Atlantic). These reefs, sandstone ledges emerging from surrounding sand seafloor, were deeply undercut and apparentl...

Here we report on two preliminary studies that addressed patterns of movement for select demersal reef piscivores (gag grouper, Mycteroperca microlepis; scamp grouper, Mycteroperca phenax; red snapper, Lutjanus campechanus; and black sea bass, Centropristis striata) using implanted acoustic transmitters. Results are based on transmitter detections...

Reef habitats are of particular ecological and socio-economic interest, having characteristically have fish abundance and diversity. Tidal currents produce localized habitats with high delivery rates of planktonic prey that support aggregations of planktivorous fish (e.g., Decapturus spp.) and serve as the focus for enhanced rates of interactions w...

Piscivores at sub-tropical reefs are important elements of reef fish communities due to their cascading influence through prey populations. While visual surveys by divers are effective for demersal predators and prey highly associated with reefs, they may not capture all of the reef-associated midwater predators (i.e., those beyond the range of vis...

Predation activity of piscivorous fish and predator-prey interactions are two important processes that in large part structure fish communities in many ecosystems, including tropical and sub-tropical reef ecosystems. Distribution and abundance of fishes at select high relief reefs in Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary (NW Atlantic) were collecte...

The American sand lance (Ammodytes americanus, Ammodytidae) and the Northern sand lance (A. dubius, Ammodytidae) are small forage fishes that play an important functional role in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean (NWA). The NWA is a highly dynamic ecosystem currently facing increased risks from climate change, fishing and energy development. We need a b...

Long Island Sound (LIS) is a large estuary on the Atlantic coast of the highly developed northeast United States. However, limited spatially-comprehensive habitat information has been available at sufficient resolution to inform planning and management of conflicting uses. A pilot project was conducted at a site with diverse topography and sediment...

Framework of management options for managing Georges Bank fisheries.

Here we present analyses conducted in support of the most recent Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS) Condition Report for 2008-2017. Our focus was on patterns and trends in species richness, diversity, and community composition of fishes in SBNMS and surrounding waters over a nearly 50-year period. These analyses of the larger Gulf of...

Deep-sea corals are of conservation concern in the North Atlantic due to prolonged disturbances associated with the exploitation of natural resources and a changing environment. As a result, two research cruises in the Gulf of Maine region during 2014 and 2017 collected samples of two locally dominant coral species, Primnoa resedaeformis and Paramu...

Studies of mixed-species groups of animals can reveal emergent complexities of collective behaviors. In this study we collected data on mixed-species hunting groups composed primarily of piscivorous fishes (species composition, abundance, behavioral interactions) and used both multivariate and network analyses to quantify pair-wise and guild level...

The dynamics of fish communities at tropical and sub-tropical rocky reefs are influenced in many cases by predation activity and predator-prey interactions. These processes usually follow specific diel patterns in reef areas with higher rates of these interactions occurring during the crepuscular periods. However, other factors such as habitat comp...

Visual census dataset from SCUBA diving observations. (XLSX)

Acoustic dataset used in this paper for the habitat modeling and spatial analysis. (XLSX)

Example of echograms showing the diel variability of fish behaviour and distribution at station 01OUT. The distance between the vertical line is 250 m. The horizontal line is at 10 m depth. A—night; B—predawn; C—postdawn; D—day; E—predusk; F- postdusk. (TIF)

The habitats marine fishes occupy can strongly influence the vital rates of individuals with population-level consequences. The distributions and densities of fish in part reflect the relative quality of available habitats, both through individual responses in the form of behavior and spatially heterogeneous mortality and recruitment, and are used...

From 2006 to date the submersible DeepSee has been used to study the deep waters in and around Isla del Coco National Park, Costa Rica. Over these years, images and samples have been collected at depths between 50 and 450 m. Here we present a catalogue of bony fishes recorded by the submersible in deep waters of Isla del Coco, 500 km south-southwes...

Ensuring the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources through effective policies and regulations requires information on their distribution and ecological characteristics. The states of Connecticut and New York dedicated funding from the Long Island Sound cable fund settlement to an extensive seafloor habitat mapping initiative. Buildin...

Here we provide background analyses on patterns and trends in species richness, diversity, and community composition of fishes at Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS), from 1970-2017, to support preparation of a Sanctuary Condition Report. Analyses focused on the larger Gulf of Maine region, in which SBNMS is nested, are also included...

Predation activity and predator–prey interactions play a crucial role in structuring and controlling fish communities in many marine ecosystems, including sub-tropical rocky reefs. The general pattern of distribution and behavior of predators and prey in reef areas usually follows diel cycles that are predictable with a peak of predation activity d...

Environmental conditions and ecological settings along the coast and nearshore waters of estuaries and embayments of the Northeast United States have clearly changed over the last century. Understanding how such changes have influenced the guild of marine birds (i.e., defined here as those that depend on marine organisms as food resources), and how...

The distribution and demographics of a population of Winter Flounder Pseudopleuronectes americanus were examined for changes related to habitat quality over a fishery-independent survey period of 29 years, encompassing an 82% decline in abundance. We tested for spatial and temporal variation in indicators of fitness to determine whether they reveal...

Conservation of biological diversity in the deep sea will require spatial management approaches to avoid significant impacts. Most problematic is the lack of geographically comprehensive surveys of seafloor fauna to identify representative sites. Data produced from archived underwater imagery can potentially overcome this problem. We used imagery c...

Although deep-sea octocorals were historically considered common components of hard bottom communities in the deep waters of the Gulf of Maine region, they are now spatially rare and have been difficult to detect using standard towed-gear surveys. Exploratory ROV and towed camera surveys in 2002-03 and 2013-15 located sites in deep U.S. waters (ca....

Discerning the role that facilitative behavioral interactions in mixed species groups of hunting piscivores play in growth and survivorship is important both in our fundamental understanding of fish community dynamics and for developing conservation strategies. In this study we collected data on mixed-species hunting groups (species composition, nu...

Discerning the role that facilitative behavioral interactions in mixed species groups of hunting piscivores play in growth and survivorship is important both in our fundamental understanding of fish community dynamics and for developing conservation strategies. In this study we collected data on mixed-species hunting groups (species composition, nu...

The common sea pen (Pennatula aculeata) is a deep, cold-water coral in the soft sediments of the Gulf of Maine, often occurring in dense patches. While providing physical habitat structure, it is routinely removed as bycatch during commercial fishing activities. A study in Atlantic Canada (Baillon et al. 2012) examined sea pens from trawl bycatch a...

We conducted an analysis to assess the conservation value of a proposed Marine National Monument in federal waters off the Northeast United States inclusive of three units (1) the Cashes Ledge Complex in the central Gulf of Maine consisting of Cashes Ledge, Sigsbee Ridge and Fippennies Ledge; (2) a southern unit of the canyons and seamounts along t...

p>The shallow waters around Isla del Coco, Costa Rica, have the highest density of apex predators within the Eastern Tropical Pacific. This represents a unique opportunity to assess the structure of predatory interactions in a community relatively unimpacted by fishing. Facilitation of predation has commonly been observed in shallow reef systems, l...

Much research and monitoring effort has been focused on deciphering the processes responsible for recruitment dynamics of marine fish. While significant progress has been made, it has proved difficult to determine which processes are responsible for variation at particular life history stages, especially during larval and early juvenile stages. The...

The continental margin off the northeastern United States (NEUS) contains numerous, topographically complex features that increase habitat heterogeneity across the region. However, the majority of these rugged features have never been surveyed, particularly using direct observations. During summer 2013, 31 Remotely-Operated Vehicle (ROV) dives were...

This white paper describes the effects and implications of illegal fishing within a fishery closed area in the Gulf of Maine in regards to considering this an area with characteristics for OECM designation. Use of such areas when accounting for national marine conservation goals should assess compliance in regards to human-caused impacts (as descri...

The Cooperation Across the Atlantic for Marine Governance Integration (CALAMAR) project aimed to strengthen networks among key maritime stakeholders in the EU and US, and contribute policy recommendations to improve integration of maritime policies and promote transatlantic cooperation. The project convened a dialogue of more than 40 experts from b...

This document provides advice document for the New England Fishery Management Council to address development of a control rule for the Atlantic herring fishery that accounts for herring’s role as forage in the ecosystem and for developing ecological guidance for the herring plan development team on managing forage fish within an ecosystem context,...

Submarine canyons and seamounts are characterized by abrupt topographies, patchy seafloor habitats, and complex flow patterns (with direct and indirect effects on distribution of prey). The composition of fish assemblages in these landscapes is poorly known due to problems related to sampling using traditional towed nets. Video surveys with submers...

An integrated habitat map links acoustic patch types to mean bottom tidal stress and the defining ecological characteristics of infauna, epifauna, and biogenic features. Notable is the faunal response to the general gradient in grain size (i.e., fine to coarse) along with the concomitant gradient of increasing tidal stress. The trend here is betwee...

Imagery was collected to characterize species and community distribution across the seafloor landscape in a pilot study area of western Long Island Sound.

Piscivores at sub-tropical reefs directly influence prey populations via consumption as well as through indirect behavioral effects. For example, midwater predators facilitate predation by demersal predators by driving prey downward, producing ephemeral feeding opportunities at the sea floor. At Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary off Georgia, di...

Piscivores at sub-tropical reefs directly influence prey populations via consumption as well as through indirect behavioral effects. For example, midwater predators facilitate predation by demersal predators by driving prey downward, producing ephemeral feeding opportunities at the sea floor. At Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary off Georgia, di...