Gone but not forgotten: Collaborative telemetry network provides insight into out-of-system movements of Common Snook

ABSTRACT Objective The objective of this study was to examine the movements of Common Snook Centropomus undecimalis, a tropical euryhaline species, out of the Shark River, Everglades National Park, Florida, USA, and gain a better understanding of their long-distance regional movements. Methods This study used 7 years (2017–2023) of acoustic telemetry data from the Shark River Florida Coastal Everglades Array and from five other collaborative telemetry arrays in southwestern Florida to assess out-of-system movements for 119 Common Snook. Generalized linear models were used to assess the relationships between out-of-system movements and biological and environmental variables. Results Most Common Snook departures took place during the spawning season, with 121 departures (80.1%). Of 67 departed individuals, 26 were detected by the collaborative arrays (both north and south of our array, 38.8%). Of the departed Common Snook, 35 returned to the Shark River (52.2%), with most returning to the lower river (62.7%), and with a trend for larger fish to have a higher probability of return. Last, Common Snook that spent less time outside were more likely to return to the upper part of the Shark River. Conclusions Our study leveraged five collaborative acoustic telemetry arrays to investigate long-distance movements of Common Snook across southwest Florida, revealing that the true scales of movement and population connectivity remain largely unknown. Despite limited receiver coverage, detections of Common Snook outside the Shark River were higher than expected, with half of the individuals exhibiting site fidelity by returning to the river. These findings underscore that a single river system may only represent a portion of an organism’s home range, highlighting the need for further studies and expanded receiver coverage to elucidate broader patterns of snook movement and population connectivity.