Support for the Slope Sea as a major spawning ground for Atlantic bluefin tuna: evidence from larval abundance, growth rates, and particle-tracking simulations

Hernández, Christina M.; Richardson, David E.; Rypina, Irina I.; Chen, Ke; Marancik, Katrin E.; Shulzitski, Kathryn; Llopiz, Joel K.

doi:10.1139/cjfas-2020-0444

i

Support for the Slope Sea as a major spawning ground for Atlantic bluefin tuna: evidence from larval abundance, growth rates, and particle-tracking simulations

Supporting Files

2022
By Hernández, Christina M. ; Richardson, David E. ; Rypina, Irina I. ; ...

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Journal Title:

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
Personal Author:

Hernández, Christina M. ; Richardson, David E. ; Rypina, Irina I. ; Chen, Ke ; Marancik, Katrin E. ; Shulzitski, Kathryn ; Llopiz, Joel K.
NOAA Program & Office:

NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) ; NEFSC (Northeast Fisheries Science Center) ; CIMAS (Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies)
Description:

Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) are commercially and ecologically valuable, but management is complicated by their highly migratory lifestyle. Recent collections of bluefin tuna larvae in the Slope Sea off northeastern United States have opened questions about how this region contributes to population dynamics. We analyzed larvae collected in the Slope Sea and the Gulf of Mexico in 2016 to estimate larval abundance and growth rates and used a high-resolution regional ocean circulation model to estimate spawning locations and larval transport. We did not detect a regional difference in growth rates, but found that Slope Sea larvae were larger than Gulf of Mexico larvae prior to exogenous feeding. Slope Sea larvae generally backtracked to locations north of Cape Hatteras and would have been retained within the Slope Sea until the early juvenile stage. Overall, our results provide supporting evidence that the Slope Sea is a major spawning ground that is likely to be important for population dynamics. Further study of larvae and spawning adults in the region should be prioritized to support management decisions.
Keywords:

Animal Populations Bluefin Tuna Fishery Management Animal Populations Bluefin Tuna Fishery Management Aquatic Science Ecology, Evolution, Behavior And Systematics
Source:

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 79(5), 814-824
DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2020-0444
Document Type:

Journal Article
Rights Information:

CC BY
Compliance:

Submitted
Main Document Checksum:

urn:sha256:b6c96baccb49f75c4d5ecac62f6a639118f91b852c4ec9412399780cc06ff047
Download URL:

https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/46539/noaa_46539_DS1.pdf
File Type:

[PDF - 1.72 MB ]

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