Influence of Particulate Organic Carbon Sedimentation within the Seasonal Sea-ice Regime on the Catch Distribution of Northern Shrimp (Pandalus borealis)

Abstract

A sedimentation model was used to map the distribution of particulate organic carbon (POC) in the Labrador Sea in relation to shrimp (Pandalus borealis) distribution. The model was based on information from sediment traps and ice regimes defined by: ice concentration, duration of ice cover and distance from an ice edge. Initial results from a subset of POC-binned commercial shrimp fishing data resulted in linear regression coefficients between catch per hour and POC of r 2 = 0.926 for 1989 and 0.964 for 1996. Binning the data according to depth resulted in r 2 = 0.995 and 0.948, respectively. Shrimp catch data from research surveys binned by (1) POC, (2) depth and (3) temperature resulted in corresponding r 2 of (1) 0.304, (2) 0.763, (3) 0.745 and (1) 0.535, (2) 0.897 (3) 0.954 for 1996 and 1997, respectively. The results validate the sedimentation model and confirm the importance of POC as food for shrimp. Information on POC distribution determined by sedimentation models has potential applications in shrimp fisheries and research.

Shrimp (Pandalus borealis) growth and timing of the spring phytoplankton bloom on the Newfoundland–Labrador Shelf

“…In particular, the importance of phytoplankton detrital material in shrimp diet may have been underestimated in previous studies because of the difficulties of its quantitative determination in gut analysis. The importance of this food source has been demonstrated indirectly by the strong affinity of older shrimp for areas of high particulate organic carbon deposition (Ramseier et al. , 2000) and bottom types with a high organic content (Koeller, 2000).…”

“…Marginal ice regions are zones of high primary production and phytoplankton biomass which support rich pelagic or benthic food webs (Smith et al. , 1987; Stead and Thompson, 2003), including the Newfoundland–Labrador Shelf shrimp populations (Parsons and Colbourne, 2000; Ramseier et al. , 2000).…”

“…Consequently, detritus, much of which is derived from the decomposition of phytoplankton, is an important food source for later stages (Hopkins et al. , 1993; Ramseier et al. , 2000).…”

“…(2003) linked the timing of the spring bloom determined from remotely sensed ocean colour data to recruitment success of a commercially important demersal fish species. Remotely sensed data have also been applied in ecological studies of other commercial species including shrimp (Lindner and Bailey, 1968; Ramseier et al. , 2000; Stein, 2000).…”

Fluvial suspended sediment dynamics: Implications for particulate organic carbon transport modeling

“…Karickhoff [1981], Voice and Weber [1983], and Sobek et al [2004] emphasize the central role of POC in organic contaminant association and transport. Moreover, particulate organic matter often has a high nutritional value and thus can be a major food source for both pelagic and benthic consumers [Ramseier et al, 2000]. Of particular interest, along with lateral carbon flows, are the in-river vertical fluxes of POC which couple the water column with the streambed.…”