Objective One of the most difficult aspects of recreational fisheries management is the ability to collect and have immediate access to fisheries-dependent data. The advent of smart devices has created a novel way to collect self-reported data. Working with 16 for-hire vessel captains from across the Gulf of Mexico, we developed an electronic logbook application, iSnapper, to test the quality and quantity of data that an app could provide for researchers and fisheries managers.Methods Captains tested iSnapper by recording catch and effort data on a tablet or smartphone during the 2011 recreational Red Snapper Lutjanus campechanus fishing season (June 1, 2011-July 18, 2011) and provided recreational anglers aboard those vessels with the opportunity to participate in a voluntary socioeconomic survey. Submitted trips were validated by comparing the app data to those collected at dockside creels.Results During the 6-week trial, 17,926 fish were caught, from a total of 60 species, with Red Snapper comprising most of the catch (61%). Red Snapper had a reported discard rate of 38%, with 86% of those reported to be released alive. Over 70% of trips with reported depths were fishing between 30 and 59 m. Validation of harvest data showed no major differences between independent creel surveys and data reported to the iSnapper program.Conclusions Overall, we demonstrated that an electronic reporting app such as iSnapper can produce high-quality and valid catch data for use by fishery managers. These electronic reporting apps could also be used to help with data gaps in recreational fisheries where little or no data are currently being collected. Accurate catch, effort, and supplementary data can be collected from the charter for-hire industry using an application created for a phone or tablet.

Trait-based climate vulnerability assessment (CVA) is a rapid and repeatable approach to simultaneously assess the vulnerability of a large number of species to projected regional changes in climate. We conducted the first CVA in the U.S. South Atlantic Large Marine Ecosystem for 71 ecologically, economically, and culturally important fish and invertebrate species. The CVA was conducted by a 16-member panel based on scoring 12 biological sensitivity attributes and seven climate exposure factors. About two-thirds of the species were considered highly vulnerability to future climate projected under the RCP 8.5 emissions scenario, with diadromous species, invertebrates, and deepwater reef fishes the most vulnerable functional groups. Ocean acidification, sea surface temperature, and salinity were the exposure factors with the greatest influence on climate vulnerability, while population growth rate, population status, and early life history traits were the most important biological sensitivity attributes. More than two-thirds of the species had high potential for shifts in geographic distribution, due mostly to the prevalence of broadcast spawning, extensive larval dispersal, and high adult mobility of many species, and the generalist habitat requirements of several estuary-dependent and hard-bottom reef species. Some shifts in distribution have already occurred though potential relationships to environmental conditions associated with climate are not well-understood. Uncertainty analyses confirmed the robustness of the climate vulnerability rankings, but comparison of alternative types of elicited informed judgement did not always agree, suggesting higher uncertainty in climate vulnerability for some species. In addition, several species may benefit under future climate conditions, and climate effects on some species considered to be highly vulnerable may be of relatively small magnitude. These results can be used to prioritize conservation, research, and management efforts, and identify key uncertainties related to the impacts of future climate on fishery resources in the U.S. South Atlantic region.

A three-year pilot study, the Deep Coral Reef Monitoring Program (DCRMP), expanded the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program’s (NCRMP) established fishery-independent, diver-based reef fish visual survey to upper mesophotic reefs (>30 to 50 m) in the United States (US) Caribbean for the first time. The new DCRMP sample domain (>30 to 50 m) encompassed 2.4 times more survey area than NCRMP (0 to 30 m) and collected high quality data (CV <20%) on coral reef fishes [three survey years, 29 (5) species; mean (standard deviation)]. For the four representative, fishery-targeted, analysis species selected (i.e., a grouper, snapper, triggerfish, and parrotfish), domain-wide density and length comparisons between surveys showed similar or statistically higher abundances and larger lengths for fishes at deeper depths (>30 to 50 m). These results highlight the importance of surveying the entire insular shelf in St. Thomas and St. John, US Virgin Islands for fisheries management applications. Furthermore, the DCRMP survey leveraged NCRMP’s methods and resources resulting in a seamless extension to deeper waters. However, if these programs were fully integrated and optimized within a single survey design, approximately half the sites would be needed to achieve the same level of precision, offering substantial time and cost savings. The principles of probabilistic sampling successfully used in the present fishery-independent survey design (0 to 50 m) can be applied more broadly to develop an “ideal” large-scale, multi-gear survey from 0 to about 500 m to encompass the entire depth ranges of managed species in the US Caribbean.

Exploitation impacts and management options for 15 coral reef fish species central to the commercial and recreational fisheries of the southern Florida USA coral reef ecosystem were evaluated using a length-based risk analysis (LBRA) framework. Population abundance-at-length composition data were obtained from several regional federal-state sampling programs. These and updated life history demographic data were integrated into a length-based numerical cohort model to generate LBRA fishery sustainability metrics from a probabilistic perspective. Three of five groupers, eight of eight snappers, and two of two grunts were below the 40% spawning potential ratio (SPR) stock sustainability minimum; ten of these stocks are at < 20% of their historical spawning biomass, some as low as 5%. Therefore, to ameliorate overfishing for the 13 stocks with sustainability risks & nbsp;>=& nbsp;98%, fisheries management requires increased minimum sizes of first capture (L-c) and significant reductions in fishing mortality (F). To achieve sustainability and reduce sustainability risks area-time protections are also needed. While lack of data often limits the evaluation of management options, this paper establishes benchmarks from which data-limited approaches can move forward. In addition, the approach can be used to cross-check other data-rich analyses. A goal of this work is to effectively balance sustainability risks with fishery production to mitigate overfishing likelihoods and to increase the probability of sustainable fisheries.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Reef Conservation Program supports the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) in the United States Pacific, Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico. NCRMP conducts standardized observations of biological, climatic, and socioeconomic indicators across American Samoa, Guam, the Main Hawaiian Islands, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Pacific Remote Islands, Florida, the Flower Garden Banks, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands. NCRMP provides periodic, national-level assessments of the status of United States coral reef ecosystems and communities connected to them. In 2014, NCRMP partnered with the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science on an unprecedented collaboration between federal and jurisdictional/state agencies, academia, and non-governmental organizations to synthesize NCRMP data into a reporting format designed to be accessible and relevant to the public and policy makers. The process involved multi-year data analyses of key benthic, fish, and climate indicators. In populated jurisdictions, socioeconomic data were integrated to assess public support for management actions, participation in pro-environmental behaviors, and awareness of threats to coral reefs. Jurisdictions were scored using a report-card scale (0–100%) by establishing references for each indicator using best-available historical data or expert opinion where historical data did not exist or were not statistically comparable. Despite overall ecosystem scores of Fair for all combined Atlantic (70%) and Pacific (74%) jurisdictions, the current trend is downward with a majority of United States coral reefs declining and vulnerable to further degradation. Remote, uninhabited reefs had an advantage with respect to reef fish population scores, i.e., Flower Garden Banks (85%) and Pacific Remote Islands (93%), when compared to populated location scores, i.e., Puerto Rico (63%) and Main Hawaiian Islands (66%). All coral reefs are highly impacted by climate change, and climate impacts were more pronounced than expected on remote reefs, i.e., the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (58%). Presenting results in a report-card style facilitates communication to the public and policy makers, and provides a useful mechanism to garner support for management actions such as expanding protected areas; enforcing existing regulations; increasing climate change education; reducing land-based sources of pollution; and other actions to improve the trajectory of coral reef ecosystem conditions.

The expansion of black mangrove Avicennia germinans into historically smooth cordgrass Spartina alterniflora-dominated marshes with warming temperatures heralds the migration of the marsh-mangrove ecotone northward in the northern Gulf of Mexico. With this shift, A. germinans is expected to outcompete S. alterniflora where it is able to establish, offering another prevalent food source to first order consumers. In this study, we find A. germinans leaves to be preferable to chewing herbivores, but simultaneously, chewing herbivores cause more damage to S. alterniflora leaves. Despite higher nitrogen content, A. germinans leaves decomposed slower than S. alterniflora leaves, perhaps due to other leaf constituents or a different microbial community. Other studies have found the opposite in decomposition rates of the two species’ leaf tissue. This study provides insights into basic trophic process, herbivory and decomposition, at the initial stages of black mangrove colonization into S. alterniflora salt marsh.

This study extended a data-limited length-based stock assessment approach to a risk analysis context. The estimation-simulation method used length frequencies as the principal data in lieu of catch and effort. Key developments were to: (i) incorporate probabilistic mortality and growth dynamics into a numerical cohort model; (ii) employ a precautionary approach for setting sustainability reference points for fishing mortality (FREF) and stock reproductive biomass (BREF); (iii) define sustainability risks in terms of probability distributions; and, (iv) evaluate exploitation status in terms of expected length frequencies, the main observable population metric. This refined length-based approach was applied to six principal exploited reef fish species in the Florida Keys region, consisting of three groupers (black grouper, red grouper, and coney), two snappers (mutton snapper and yellowtail snapper), and one wrasse (hogfish). The estimated sustainability risks for coney were low (<35%) in terms of benchmarks for fishing mortality rate and stock reproductive biomass. The other five species had estimated sustainability risks of greater than 95% for both benchmarks. The data-limited risk analysis methodology allowed for a fairly comprehensive probabilistic evaluation of sustainability status from species and community perspectives, and also a frame of reference for exploring management options balancing sustainability risks and fishery production.

The tropically associated black mangrove ( Avicennia germinans ) is expanding into salt marshes of the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGOM). This species has colonized temperate systems dominated by smooth cordgrass ( Spartina alterniflora ) in Texas, Louisiana, Florida and, most recently, Mississippi. To date, little is known about the habitat value of black mangroves for juvenile fish and invertebrates. Here we compare benthic epifauna, infauna, and nekton use of Spartina -dominated, Avicennia -dominated, and mixed Spartina and black mangrove habitats in two areas with varying densities and ages of black mangroves. Faunal samples and sediment cores were collected monthly from April to October in 2012 and 2013 from Horn Island, MS, and twice yearly in the Chandeleur Islands, LA. Multivariate analysis suggested benthic epifauna communities differed significantly between study location and among habitat types, with a significant interaction between the two fixed factors. Differences in mangrove and marsh community composition were greater at the Chandeleurs than at Horn Island, perhaps because of the distinct mangrove/marsh ecotone and the high density and age of mangroves there. Infaunal abundances were significantly higher at Horn Island, with tanaids acting as the main driver of differences between study locations. We predict that if black mangroves continue to increase in abundance in the northern GOM, estuarine faunal community composition could shift substantially because black mangroves typically colonize shorelines at higher elevations than smooth cordgrass, resulting in habitats of differing complexity and flooding duration.

Here we describe the effects of beach morphological features on loggerhead (Caretta caretta) nesting behavior on the barrier islands of the north-central Gulf of Mexico. Our results show that loggerhead crawl length decreases as beach slope increases, and our data comparing nest crawls (resulting in egg laying) versus false crawls (emergence onto the beach without laying eggs) suggest that beach slope and crawl length differ between the crawl types but elevation does not. We infer that loggerheads cue in to beach slope to reach a perceived elevation with reduced risk of inundation, crawling longer distances on flatter slopes compared with shorter distances on steep slopes, but that after this elevation is reached, other environmental variables may ultimately factor into the decision to lay eggs.

Red Snapper Lutjanus campechanus is the most economically important reef fish in the Gulf of Mexico, and despite being intensively managed, the stock remains overfished. These fish are susceptible to pressure-related injuries (i.e., barotrauma) during fishing that compromise survival after catch and release. Barotrauma-afflicted fish may not only experience immediate mortality but also delayed mortality after returning to depth. This variability and unknown fate leads to uncertainty in stock assessment models and rebuilding plans. To generate better estimates of immediate and delayed mortality and postrelease behavior, Red Snapper were tagged with ultrasonic acoustic transmitters fitted with acceleration and depth sensors. Unique behavior profiles were generated for each fish using these sensor data that allowed the classification of survival and delayed mortality events. Using this information, we compared the survival of Red Snapper released using venting, nonventing, and descending treatments over three seasons and two depths. Red Snapper survival was highest at cooler temperatures and shallower depths. Fish released using venting and descender tools had similar survival, and both these groups of fish had higher survival than nonvented surface-released fish. Overall, Red Snapper had 72% survival, 15% immediate mortality, and 13% delayed mortality, and all fish suffering from delayed mortality perished within a 72-h period after release. Results from these field studies enhance the understanding of the delayed mortality and postrelease fate of Red Snapper regulatory discards. Moreover, these data support the practice of using venting or descender devices to increase the survival of discarded Red Snapper in the recreational fishery and show that acoustic telemetry can be a valuable tool in estimating delayed mortality.

Implanting internal acoustic tags is often a preferred method for tracking fish; however, this procedure can present issues with respect to surgical incision that affect experimental design. This is particularly the case when testing for the effects of barotrauma, where the incision for an internal tag would inadvertently "vent" the fish, precluding an "unvented" or control treatment. The rise of barotrauma experimentation has increased the need for methods facilitating this design. Here, we develop and test a novel technique to externally attach acoustic tags, without causing the release of gasses from the fish's body cavity. In addition, this method does not require anesthetics, thereby allowing researchers to eliminate artifacts associated with sedation when trying to more accurately replicate "real-world" fishery conditions. We used accelerometer/depth tags to provide information on how long an externally tagged fish would retain its tag in situ. Changes in acceleration or changes in depth were used as a proxy to determine whether the fish was alive or dead or had shed its tag. Results showed that 80% of the fish (n = 20) detected retained their tags for at least 48 h. Seventy-five percent of the fish tagged retained their tags for at least 23 d. After 23 d, tags were shed periodically until day 49. Thirty-three percent of fish tagged retained their tags until day 57, when the experiment was ended. The ability of these modified tags to stay attached for at least 23 d suggests that the technique would be successful for maintaining a balanced experimental design for measuring postrelease mortality or changes in behavior in deepwater fishes while eliminating artifacts typically associated with internal tag implantation.

Red Snapper Lutjanus campechanus are the most economically important reef fish in the Gulf of Mexico and a heavily targeted fishery. When brought to the surface from deep water, this species often suffers pressure-related injuries collectively known as barotrauma. This trauma results in high discard mortality and has affected recovery of the fishery. In laboratory experiments using hyperbaric chambers, we assessed sublethal effects of barotrauma and subsequent survival rates of Red Snapper after capture events from pressures corresponding to 30 and 60 m deep. We then evaluated the use of rapid recompression and venting to increase survival and improve recovery after release in this controlled environment. Vented fish in simulated surface release and rapid-recompression treatments had 100% survival. Fish released at the surface that were not vented had 67% survival after decompression from 30 m but only 17% survival from 60 m, while nonvented rapidly recompressed fish had 100% survival from 30 m and 83% survival from 60 m. Fish that were vented upon release at the surface showed significantly better ability to achieve an upright orientation and evade a simulated predator. Results showed clear benefits of venting or recompression. Our data also show strong depth effects resulting in increased barotrauma injuries, more impaired reflexes, and greater mortality as depth increases. Overall, our data support venting or rapid recompression as effective tools for alleviating barotrauma symptoms, improving predator evasion, and increasing overall survival.

The objective of this study was to measure the communities associated with different seagrass species to predict how shifts in seagrass species composition may affect associated fauna. In the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, coverage of the historically dominant shoal grass (Halodule wrightii) is decreasing, while coverage of manatee grass (Syringodium filiforme) and turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum) is increasing. We conducted a survey of fishes, crabs, and shrimp in monospecific beds of shoal, manatee, and turtle grass habitats of South Texas, USA to assess how changes in sea grass species composition would affect associated fauna. We measured seagrass parameters including shoot density, above ground biomass, epiphyte type, and epiphyte abundance to investigate relationships between faunal abundance and these seagrass parameters. We observed significant differences in communities among three seagrass species, even though these organisms are highly motile and could easily travel among the different seagrasses. Results showed species specific relationships among several different characteristics of the seagrass community and individual species abundance. More work is needed to discern the drivers of the complex relationships between individual seagrass species and their associated fauna.

Red Snapper Lutjanus campechanus are the most economically important reef fish in the Gulf of Mexico and a heavily targeted fishery. When brought to the surface from deep water, this species often suffers pressure-related injuries collectively known as barotrauma. This trauma results in high discard mortality and has affected recovery of the fishery. In laboratory experiments using hyperbaric chambers, we assessed sublethal effects of barotrauma and subsequent survival rates of Red Snapper after capture events from pressures corresponding to 30 and 60 m deep. We then evaluated the use of rapid recompression and venting to increase survival and improve recovery after release in this controlled environment. Vented fish in simulated surface release and rapid-recompression treatments had 100% survival. Fish released at the surface that were not vented had 67% survival after decompression from 30 m but only 17% survival from 60 m, while nonvented rapidly recompressed fish had 100% survival from 30 m and 83% survival from 60 m. Fish that were vented upon release at the surface showed significantly better ability to achieve an upright orientation and evade a simulated predator. Results showed clear benefits of venting or recompression. Our data also show strong depth effects resulting in increased barotrauma injuries, more impaired reflexes, and greater mortality as depth increases. Overall, our data support venting or rapid recompression as effective tools for alleviating barotrauma symptoms, improving predator evasion, and increasing overall survival. The mortality of released fish has long been a concern for fisheries managers, especially in fisheries with high discard rates (Harrington et al. 2005; Davis and Ottmar 2006; Hochhalter and Reed 2011). Discard mortality is often due to stress associated Subject editor: Richard Brill, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, USA *Corresponding author: greg.stunz@tamucc.edu 1Present address: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana 70123, USA. Received January 31, 2014; accepted April 7, 2014 with hooking, exhaustion, air exposure, vision damage from sunlight, rapid thermal change (experienced at the thermocline), and handling injuries (Davis and Olla 2001; Brill et al. 2008; Campbell et al. 2010b). The widespread problem of discard mortality 190 D ow nl oa de d by [ T ex as A & M U ni ve rs ity C or pu s C hr is ti] a t 1 4: 35 2 6 M ay 2 01 6 SURVIVAL AND RECOVERY OF RED SNAPPER WITH BAROTRAUMA 191 has prompted fisheries scientists to seek improved methods to quantify, predict, and reduce mortality, but there is still a paucity of data for many fisheries, especially reef fish fisheries (Davis and Ottmar 2006; Pollock and Pine 2007; Hochhalter and Reed 2011). The major stressors experienced during capture of deepdwelling physoclistic species are collectively known as barotrauma, which results from swim bladder gas expanding during a forced ascent (Gravel and Cooke 2008; Brown et al. 2009; Dowling et al. 2010). This occurs because as pressure decreases, gas expands exponentially. Fish suffering from barotrauma may exhibit symptoms including distension of the abdomen, stomach eversion from the buccal cavity, intestinal protrusion from the anus, and eyes bulging from the head (exophthalmia); these injuries can be lethal (Burns et al. 2004; Rummer and Bennett 2005; Campbell et al. 2010b). These visible signs constitute part of an extensive suite of internal and external injures, including swim bladder rupture and organ displacement and compression, that can be caused by barotrauma (Rummer and Bennett 2005; Hannah et al. 2008) and result in high discard mortality. In addition to mortality estimates and outward signs of pressure-related injuries, barotrauma is also quantified by measuring sublethal effects that can alter behavior and increase vulnerability to predation (Campbell et al. 2010a, 2010b). Sublethal effects include injuries (e.g., stomach eversion and exophthalmia), impairment to reflexes, and impairment of behavioral responses (Davis and Ottmar 2006; Campbell et al. 2010a). Once released, fish with expanded swim bladders are very positively buoyant and may have difficulty orienting, submerging, and avoiding a predatory attack (Brown et al. 2010). Compounding the problem, some predators such as dolphins (family Delphinidae) have been observed following fishing vessels and appear to have associated boats with this easy prey source (Burns et al. 2004). Therefore, a fish that may otherwise have recovered from capture and release may not survive given their reduced ability to escape predation. Several techniques have been proposed to improve survival and recovery for fish species that undergo barotrauma (Hochhalter and Reed 2011). One is to reduce the volume of the expanded gasses. The two primary methods used to accomplish this are swim bladder deflation with a venting tool (Wilde 2009) and rapid recompression (Brown et al. 2010). A venting tool is a hollow needle that is used to puncture the fish’s abdomen and swim bladder wall (Render and Wilson 1994). With the swim bladder volume reduced, the fish is more likely and able to return to depth when released (Render and Wilson 1996). Studies on the efficacy of venting have found differing results, and proper venting technique is likely a major factor in successfully employing this method (reviewed by Wilde 2009). A more recent method for relieving barotrauma is rapid recompression of the gasses (Jarvis and Lowe 2008; Brown et al. 2010) by returning the fish to depth (Brown et al. 2010). This method is relatively noninvasive, but depending on the technique used for recompression, typically requires more time and effort to perform than venting. A wide variety of devices are used to release fish at depth, including cages and barbless hooks attached to heavy weights (descender hooks) (Brown et al. 2010; Hochhalter and Reed 2011). Most recently developed are specialized release hooks and pressure-activated lip-grips that release fish at specified depths (SeaQualizer). The management of Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper Lutjanus campechanus has been hindered by the lack of survival estimates of discards and evaluation of barotrauma relief methods. This species is the most economically important reef fish in the Gulf of Mexico (Cowan et al. 2010) and supports major commercial and recreational fisheries, as well as playing a key ecological role as a higher trophic level predator in Gulf of Mexico reef habitats (Wells et al. 2008). Red Snapper are routinely caught between 30 and 60 m deep, can live as deep as 110 m, and commonly experience barotrauma when captured (Manooch et al. 1998; Rummer and Bennett 2005). This species has been overfished since at least the mid-1980s and has been subjected to intensive management (Diamond and Campbell 2009; Cowan 2011), though recently the stock has seen drastic improvement and populations are rebounding (NMFS 2012). Nonetheless, Red Snapper management remains controversial, and much of the debate revolves around the impact of regulatory discards (Cowan 2011). Compounding this problem are very shortened seasons; these restricted fishing windows, coupled with increasing fish abundance, result in an even higher discard rate. Thus, data are sorely needed to quantify the mortality of regulatory discards and assess tools and techniques that may increase the populations of deep-dwelling species that are undergoing stock rebuilding plans, especially in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic coast. Additional evaluations of the efficacy of venting or rapid recompression will aid fisheries managers in developing effective strategies to promote survival and recovery. A principal obstacle in understanding the effects of pressurerelated injuries is the inability to document the fate of released fish. Laboratory experiments using hyperbaric chambers provide a controlled setting to evaluate mortality, barotrauma effects, and relief procedures while controlling for confounding events. A hyperbaric chamber can be used to simulate the pressures fish experience at selected depths (Rummer and Bennett 2005). Thus, to better document the best practices and methods to ameliorate the effect of barotrauma to Red Snapper, we undertook this study to (1) estimate the survival rates of Red Snapper that have experienced decompression events, (2) evaluate the relative effectiveness of venting and rapid recompression to increase survival and improve recovery after release, including evasion responses from a simulated predator, and (3) quantify the sublethal effects of barotrauma on Red Snapper, including injuries (e.g., stomach eversion and exophthalmia) and reflex impairment. D ow nl oa de d by [ T ex as A & M U ni ve rs ity C or pu s C hr is ti] a t 1 4: 35 2 6 M ay 2 01 6 192 DRUMHILLER ET AL. TABLE 1. Experimental design for conducting barotrauma studies on Red Snapper and the resulting impairment and percent survival. Surface release = fish that were released into an open-air holding tank. Rapid recompression = fish that were returned to a hyperbaric chamber and rapidly recompressed to the same pressure from which they were previously decompressed. Relative impairment for each treatment is shown through a mean barotrauma reflex score (mean BtR) ± SE; a higher number indicates greater impairment. 0 m (control) 30 m 60 m Rapid Rapid Rapid Surface release recompression Surface release recompression Surface release recompression Not Not Not Not Not Not Measurement Vented vented Vented vented Vented vented Vented vented Vented vented Vented vented Sample size (n) 5 4 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 Mean BtR 0.036 0 0 0 0.227 0.212 0.197 0.242 0.288 0.424 0.242 0.288 SE 0.020 0 0 0 0.040 0.040 0.040 0.060 0.030 0.080 0.080 0.060 % Survival 100 100 100 100 100 67 100 100 100 17 100 83

Examining student interactions in multi-step problems from Intelligent Tutoring Systems currently involves examining thousands of interactions from hundreds of students. We designed and implemented a sequential pattern mining algorithm and a sequence rating algorithm that together recognize interesting student action sequences and display them to the user in the context of the larger graph system. With the added feature of our algorithms in the InVis system, we hope to allow teachers and tutoring system designers to better understand student action patterns and thus cater better to their learning.

This work explores the effects of using automatically generated hints in Deep Thought, a propositional logic tutor. Generating hints automatically removes a large amount of development time for new tutors, and it also useful for already existing computer-aided instruction systems that lack intelligent feedback. We focus on a series of problems, after which, the control group is known to be 3.5 times more likely to cease logging onto an online tutor when compared to the group who were given hints. We found a consistent trend in which students without hints spent more time on problems when compared to students that were provided hints. Exploration of the interaction networks for these problems revealed that the control group often spent this extra time pursuing buggy-strategies that did not lead to solutions.