ACTIVITY, MOVEMENTS, AND FEEDING BEHAVIOR OF 



THE GUNNER, TAUTOGOLABRUS ADSPERSUS, AND COMPARISON OF 



FOOD HABITS WITH YOUNG TAUTOG, TAUTOGA ONITIS, 



OFF LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK' 



BoRi L. Olla, Allen J. Bejda, and A. Dale Martin' 



ABSTRACT 



Field observations off Long Island, N.Y., using scuba and ultrasonic tracking, showed the cunner, 

 Tautogolabrus adsperaus, to be active during the day and inactively lying in shelter at night. Fish 

 restricted their movements during the day, remaining within 2 m of the structure providing the 

 nighttime shelter. The fish overwinter within their home territory in a torpid, nonfeeding state. Cunner 

 fed primarily on invertebrates, foraging both benthically and in the water column. Competition 

 between cunner and young tautog, Tautoga onitia, for Mytilus ediilis was apparent during May-June 

 when it is the major food item for both species. But beginning in July and extending through October, 

 while tautog continued to feed primarily on mussels, cunner shifted to a diet consisting mainly of the 

 isopod, Idotea baltica. 



Almost any bottom relief, natural or man-made, 

 including rock outcroppings, piers, pilings, and 

 boat docks, provides the basic physical structure 

 for temperate-water reef communities of fishes. 

 While not as diverse in the number of residents as 

 tropical and subtropical coral reefs, these com- 

 munities represent an important component of 

 the inshore marine resources of the Atlantic coast 

 of North America. The cunner, Tautogolabrus 

 adspersus, is a prominent member of temperate- 

 vi^ater reef communities. This ubiquitous inshore 

 species ranges from northern Newfoundland to 

 the mouth of Chesapeake Bay (Leim and Scott 

 1966) and between Cape Cod and Delaware Bay is 

 often found co-residing with the tautog, Tautoga. 

 onitis, the only other labrid inhabitant of the 

 region. The close relationship of the cunner to 

 inshore structures makes the species highly 

 available to the angler while at the same time 

 placing the fish in proximity to the potential ef- 

 fects of inshore pollution. 



Our aim in this study was to describe daily and 

 seasonal movements of the cunner as well as their 

 feeding habits as compared with those of young 

 tautog of similar size. 



'This work was supported in part by a grant from the U.S. 

 Atomic Energy Commission, No. AT(49-7).3045. 



'Middle Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Center Sandy Hook 

 Laboratory, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, 

 Highlands, NJ 077.32. 



MATERIALS AND METHODS 



Observations of activity and movements of the 

 cunner were made indirectly by ultrasonic 

 tracking of individual fish and directly with scuba. 

 The detailed procedures used in capturing, 

 handling, and tracking individual fish have been 

 described by Olla et al. (1974). The ultrasonic 

 transmitters, manufactured by Chipman In- 

 struments,' (Henderson et al. 1966) measured 30 x 9 

 mm and emitted pulsed signals at frequencies of 

 58 to 70 kHz. These were attached externally to the 

 fish by monofilament line passed through the dor- 

 sal musculature just below the midpoint of the 

 dorsal fin. The transmitters were made neutrally 

 buoyant by the addition of a styrofoam collar en- 

 cased in silicone. 



Eight fish were captured and tracked at one of 

 three locations (Sites A, B, and C; Figure 1) in the 

 west end of Great South Bay, Long Island, N.Y., 

 during July and August 1973. Site A was the end of 

 a small peninsula with 0.2- to 0.6-m diameter 

 riprap covering the bottom from 1.2 m above the 

 high water mark extending out 100 m. Water 

 depth ranged from 2.0 to 10.0 m. Site B, the Fire 

 Island Coast Guard basin, was a 110x52x47 m 

 open pentagon, constructed of tongue-and-groove 



Manuscript accepted January 1975. 

 FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 73, NO. 4, 1975. 



'Reference to trade names does not imply endorsement by the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA." 



895 



