Image

Peek-a-boo grouper

December 19, 2008

A Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus) peeks out from his hiding place along Glover’s Reef in Belize. These large fish have a breeding behavior that makes them especially vulnerable to overfishing — they come together in aggregations of thousands to spawn at specific times and places, making them easy to catch. WHOI researchers from the Biology and Physical Oceanography Departments were at Glover’s Reef in May 2006 to map bathymetry and quantify current flows around the reef with the ultimate goal of predicting dispersal of Nassau grouper larvae from a spawning aggregation site at the northeastern corner of the reef.
(Photo by Simon Thorrold, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)