Juvenile Habitats and Species Associations of Young-of-Year Bonefish in Eleuthera, the Bahamas

Bonefish (A. vulpes) are important components of tropical shallow-water systems throughout the Western Atlantic Ocean.  Despite their value, efforts to manage and conserve bonefish stocks have been hindered by a lack of information on their early life history.  Although several studies have examined the pelagic larval phase of bonefish during settlement to nearshore areas, the coastal habitats occupied by post-settlement juveniles before recruitment to the fishery remain largely unknown.  Therefore, the goals of this study were to: (1) assess the abundance of juvenile bonefish across a range of coastal habitats in Eleuthera, The Bahamas; (2) evaluate the contributions of each habitat to adult populations; and (3) examine early life history characteristics including growth, diet, and the timing of ontogenetic shifts.  Sampling efforts have collected 202 juvenile bonefish, and preliminary data suggest that A. vulpes juveniles inhabit shallow waters (<1m deep) over areas of fine sediment along the shores of highly sheltered coastal embayments.  Juvenile bonefish occurence is strongly associated with the presence of greater numbers of similar-sized mojarras (Eucinostomus spp.), and although both species feed primarily on benthic invertebrates, gut content analyses of bonefish and mojarras collected together indicates minimal overlap in diet, possibly signaling a non-competitive foraging association.