Comparative Abundance, Species Composition, and Demographics of Continental Shelf Fish Assemblages throughout the Gulf of Mexico
Advanced Search
Select up to three search categories and corresponding keywords using the fields to the right. Refer to the Help section for more detailed instructions.
 
 
i

Superseded

This Document Has Been Replaced By:

i

Retired

This Document Has Been Retired

i

Up-to-date Information

This is the latest update:

Comparative Abundance, Species Composition, and Demographics of Continental Shelf Fish Assemblages throughout the Gulf of Mexico
  • Published Date:

    2018

  • Source:
    Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science 10(3), 325–346
Filetype[PDF-2.25 MB]


Details:
  • Personal Author:
  • Description:
    We analyzed the results of the first comprehensive, systematic, fishery‐independent survey of Gulf of Mexico (GoM) continental shelves using data collected from demersal longline sampling off the United States, Mexico, and Cuba. In total, 166 species were sampled from 343 longline sets during 2011–2017, which deployed 153,146 baited hooks, catching 14,938 fish. Abundance, species richness, and Shannon–Wiener diversity indices by station were highest in mid‐shelf depths (~100 m), declining by about half in deeper waters. Six spatial assemblages were identified by testing the results of cluster analysis using similarity profile analysis and then plotting the geographic location of identified station clusters. A high degree of depth‐related and horizontal zonation was evident for demersal fish species. Multispecies CPUE (number per 1,000 hook‐hours) was highest off the north‐central (NC) and northwestern (NW) GoM and lower on the West Florida Shelf (WFS), Cuba (CUB), Yucatan Peninsula (YP), and southwestern (SW) GoM. Snappers and groupers were most abundant in the WFS and CUB, while elasmobranchs were the dominant taxa in the NC and NW GoM. Pelagic species were relatively rare everywhere (owing to the use of demersal longline gear), but were most dense off CUB. Species richness was highest in the NC and WFS subareas and lowest in the NW and CUB. Slopes of multispecies size spectra, which integrated mortality, recruitment, growth, and species interactions among size‐groups, were shallowest in the NW and NC GoM and steepest off the WFS and YP. These results provide a basis for evaluating the relative resiliency potential of species assemblages across the continental shelves of the GoM, and thus for identifying subareas that are most vulnerable to acute and chronic perturbations from cumulative effects of fishing, climate change, pollution (including oil spills), habitat loss, and invasive species.
  • Keywords:
  • DOI:
    https://doi.org/10.1002/mcf2.10033
  • Document Type:
    Journal Article
  • Funding:
    Grant no. NA11NMF4720151
  • Place as Subject:
  • Collection(s):
    National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
  • Main Document Checksum:
  • File Type:
  • Supporting Files:
    No Additional Files
    1. Filetype[PDF - 852.22 KB]
      Personal Author:
      Christiansen, Fredrik; McHugh, Katherine A.; Bejder, Lars;
      Published Date:
      2016
      Source:
      Royal Society Open Science, 3(12), 1-12
      Description:
      Food provisioning of wildlife is a major concern for management and conservation agencies worldwide because it encourages unnatural behaviours in wild animals and increases each individual's risk for injury and death. Here we investigate the contribu...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 852.22 KB]
    2. Filetype[PDF - 1.41 MB]
      Personal Author:
      Dahlgren, C. P.; Buch, K.; Rechisky, E.;
      Published Date:
      2016
      Source:
      Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science 8(1), 522–535
      Description:
      An understanding of temporal patterns of migration and spatial connectivity between home ranges and spawning sites is necessary for effective management of species that form transient spawning aggregations. The Nassau Grouper Epinephelus striatus is ...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 1.41 MB]
    3. Filetype[PDF - 1.20 MB]
      Personal Author:
      Lomeli, Mark J. M.; Hamel, Owen S.; Wakefield, W. Waldo;
      Published Date:
      2017
      Source:
      Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science 9(1), 149–160
      Description:
      The limited‐entry bottom trawl fishery for groundfish along the U.S. West Coast operates under a catch share program, which is implemented with the intention of improving the economic efficiency of the fishery, maximizing fishing opportunities, and...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 1.20 MB]
    4. Filetype[PDF - 2.51 MB]
      Personal Author:
      Leo, Jennifer P.; Minello, Thomas J.; Grant, William E.;
      Published Date:
      2018
      Source:
      Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science 10(3), 347–356
      Description:
      Brown shrimp Farfantepenaeus aztecus support a commercially important fishery in the northern Gulf of Mexico, and the juvenile shrimp use coastal estuaries as nurseries. Production of young shrimp from these nurseries, and hence commercial harvest of...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 2.51 MB]
    5. Filetype[PDF - 891.49 KB]
      Personal Author:
      Altenritter, Megan N.; Zydlewski, Gayle Barbin; Kinnison, Michael T.;
      Published Date:
      2017
      Source:
      Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science 9(1), 216–230,
      Description:
      Atlantic Sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus were recently listed as threatened in the Gulf of Maine and endangered in the rest of their U.S. range. Continued research priorities include long-term population monitoring, identifying the species...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 891.49 KB]
    6. Filetype[PDF - 1.06 MB]
      Personal Author:
      Arostegui, M. C.; Smith, J. M.; Kagley, A. N.;
      Published Date:
      2017
      Source:
      Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science 9(1), 1–12
      Description:
      While Pacific salmon are known for their extensive marine migrations, some species display much more limited alternative patterns, including residence within interior marine waters. To more clearly define the scale of movement of these residents, we ...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 1.06 MB]
    7. Filetype[PDF - 997.00 KB]
      Personal Author:
      Tuckey, Troy D.; Fabrizio, Mary C.; Norris, Alicia J.;
      Published Date:
      2017
      Source:
      Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science 9(1), 564–572
      Description:
      Blue Catfish Ictalurus furcatus were purposefully introduced into freshwater tributaries to Chesapeake Bay in the past, and populations have subsequently spread to new areas, negatively impacting native communities and causing concern for resource ma...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 997.00 KB]
    8. Filetype[PDF - 767.61 KB]
      Personal Author:
      McClatchie, Sam; Field, John; Thompson, Andrew R.;
      Published Date:
      2016
      Source:
      Royal Society Open Science, 3(3), 1-9
      Description:
      California sea lions increased from approximately 50 000 to 340 000 animals in the last 40 years, and their pups are starving and stranding on beaches in southern California, raising questions about the adequacy of their food supply. We investiga...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 767.61 KB]
    9. Filetype[PDF - 1.53 MB]
      Personal Author:
      Lomeli, Mark J. M.; Wakefield, W. Waldo; Herrmann, Bent;
      Published Date:
      2017
      Source:
      Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science 9(1), 597–611
      Description:
      In the U.S. West Coast limited-entry (LE) groundfish bottom trawl fishery, catches of stocks with restrictive harvest limits (e.g., Darkblotched Rockfish Sebastes crameri, Sablefish Anoplopoma fimbria, and Pacific Halibut Hippoglossus stenolepis) con...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 1.53 MB]
    10. Filetype[PDF - 1.16 MB]
      Personal Author:
      Trudelle, Laurène; Cerchio, Salvatore; Zerbini, Alexandre N.;
      Published Date:
      2016
      Source:
      Royal Society Open Science, 3(12), 1-22
      Description:
      Assessing the movement patterns and key habitat features of breeding humpback whales is a prerequisite for the conservation management of this philopatric species. To investigate the interactions between humpback whale movements and environmental con...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 1.16 MB]
    11. Filetype[PDF - 1.52 MB]
      Personal Author:
      Ho, David T.; Wanninkhof, Rik;
      Published Date:
      2016
      Source:
      Tellus B: Chemical and Physical Meteorology, 68(1), 1-10
      Description:
      GasEx-98 was the first open-ocean process study where gas transfer velocity measurements were made with several robust techniques, including airside eddy covariance of CO2 and deliberate injection of 3He and SF6. While the CO2 eddy covariance results...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 1.52 MB]
    12. Filetype[PDF - 858.85 KB]
      Personal Author:
      Harford, W. J.; Smith, S. G.; Ault, J. S.; Babcock, E. A.;
      Published Date:
      2016
      Source:
      Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science 8(1), 147–159
      Description:
      In the Florida Keys coral reef ecosystem, delineation of reef fish distributions in relationship to habitat patterns is important for improving the design characteristics of fishery-independent surveys. Efficient survey design depends on analysis of ...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 858.85 KB]
    13. Filetype[PDF - 1.54 MB]
      Personal Author:
      Lewis, Leah A.; Calambokidis, John; Stimpert, Alison K.;
      Published Date:
      2018
      Source:
      Royal Society Open Science, 5(8), 1-20
      Description:
      Acoustic communication is an important aspect of reproductive, foraging and social behaviours for many marine species. Northeast Pacific blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) produce three different call types—A, B and D calls. All may be produced as...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 1.54 MB]
    14. Filetype[PDF - 650.64 KB]
      Personal Author:
      Jackson, Jennifer A.; Carroll, Emma L.; Smith, Tim D.;
      Published Date:
      2016
      Source:
      Royal Society Open Science, 3(3), 1-16
      Description:
      Accurate estimation of historical abundance provides an essential baseline for judging the recovery of the great whales. This is particularly challenging for whales hunted prior to twentieth century modern whaling, as population-level catch records a...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 650.64 KB]
    15. Filetype[PDF - 2.54 MB]
      Personal Author:
      Sagarese, Skyler R.; Frisk, Michael G.; Cerrato, Robert M.;
      Published Date:
      2016
      Source:
      Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science 8(1), 244–262
      Description:
      This study examines the potential uncertainty in survey biomass estimates of Spiny Dogfish Squalus acanthias in the Northeast U.S. Continental Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem (NES LME). Diel catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) estimates are examined from the N...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 2.54 MB]
    16. Filetype[PDF - 1.52 MB]
      Personal Author:
      Tuckey, Troy D.; Fabrizio, Mary C.;
      Published Date:
      2016
      Source:
      Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science 8(1), 1–15
      Description:
      The spatial and temporal extent of summer hypoxia (dissolved oxygen [DO] concentration ≤ 2 mg/L) in Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries has been increasing for decades, consequently affecting fish distribution and abundance by shifting biomass to no...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 1.52 MB]
    17. Filetype[PDF - 812.55 KB]
      Personal Author:
      Parsons, Kim M.; Everett, Meredith; Dahlheim, Marilyn;
      Published Date:
      2018
      Source:
      Royal Society Open Science, 5(8), 1-12
      Description:
      Determining management units for natural populations is critical for effective conservation and management. However, collecting the requisite tissue samples for population genetic analyses remains the primary limiting factor for a number of marine sp...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 812.55 KB]
    18. Filetype[PDF - 854.80 KB]
      Personal Author:
      Arnold, Linsey M.; Smith, Wade D.; Spencer, Paul D.;
      Published Date:
      2018
      Source:
      Royal Society Open Science, 5(1), 1-11
      Description:
      Despite evidence of maternal age effects in a number of teleost species, there have been challenges to the assertion that maternal age intrinsically influences offspring quality. From an evolutionary perspective, maternal age effects result in young ...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 854.80 KB]
    19. Filetype[PDF - 1.09 MB]
      Personal Author:
      Ingram, Evan Corey; Peterson, Douglas L.;
      Published Date:
      2016
      Source:
      Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science 8(1), 595–606
      Description:
      The Atlantic Sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus has declined throughout its range, and the species is now protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Information on the timing and extent of spawning migrations is essential for the development and imp...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 1.09 MB]
    20. Filetype[PDF - 1.20 MB]
      Personal Author:
      Cox, S. L.; Miller, P. I.; Embling, C. B.;
      Published Date:
      2016
      Source:
      Royal Society Open Science, 3(9), 1-16
      Description:
      Oceanic fronts are key habitats for a diverse range of marine predators, yet how they influence fine-scale foraging behaviour is poorly understood. Here, we investigated the dive behaviour of northern gannets Morus bassanus in relation to shelf-sea f...
      File Type:
      Filetype[PDF - 1.20 MB]

You May Also Like:

  1. Filetype[PDF - 169.66 KB]
    Personal Author:
    Bjorkstedt, Eric Peter
    Corporate Authors:
    Southwest Fisheries Science Center (U.S.)
    Published Date:
    2005
    Series:
    NOAA-TM-NMFS-SWFSC ; 368
    File Type:
    Filetype[PDF - 169.66 KB]
  2. Filetype[PDF - 4.19 MB]
    Corporate Authors:
    Northeast Fisheries Science Center (U.S.)
    Conference Authors:
    Northeast Regional Stock Assessment Workshop 1997 : Woods Hole, Mass.)
    Published Date:
    1997
    Series:
    Northeast Fisheries Science Center reference document ; 97-14
    File Type:
    Filetype[PDF - 4.19 MB]
  3. Filetype[PDF - 3.17 MB]
    Corporate Authors:
    Northeast Fisheries Science Center (U.S.)
    Conference Authors:
    Northeast Regional Stock Assessment Workshop 1992 : Woods Hole, Mass.)
    Published Date:
    1992
    Series:
    Northeast Fisheries Science Center reference document ; 92-07
    File Type:
    Filetype[PDF - 3.17 MB]
  4. Filetype[PDF - 3.44 MB]
    Corporate Authors:
    Northeast Fisheries Science Center (U.S.)
    Conference Authors:
    Northeast Regional Stock Assessment Workshop 1994 : Woods Hole, Mass.)
    Published Date:
    1994
    Series:
    Northeast Fisheries Science Center reference document ; 94-23
    File Type:
    Filetype[PDF - 3.44 MB]
  5. Filetype[PDF - 7.45 MB]
    Corporate Authors:
    Northeast Fisheries Science Center (U.S.)
    Conference Authors:
    Northeast Regional Stock Assessment Workshop 1995 : Woods Hole, Mass.)
    Published Date:
    1995
    Series:
    Northeast Fisheries Science Center reference document ; 95-09
    File Type:
    Filetype[PDF - 7.45 MB]