Linking temperate demersal fish species to habitat: scales, patterns and future directions

Johnson, Andrew F.; Jenkins, Stuart R.; Hiddink, Jan Geert; Hinz, Hilmar

doi:10.1111/j.1467-2979.2012.00466.x

Cited by 62 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 195 publications

(215 reference statements)

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“…The large spatial extent of the Florida Keys sampling domain and the innovations in survey stratification in relation to relevant habitat and environmental features enabled investigation at appropriate ecological scales (Wiens 1989;Ault et al 2005bAult et al , 2013Johnson et al 2013). This survey has been tailored to the objectives of multispecies stock assessment, evaluation of the effectiveness of no-take marine reserves, and measurement of ecosystem and reef fish community condition (Smith et al 2011a;Ault et al 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cross‐Shelf Habitat Occupancy Probabilities for Juvenile Groupers in the Florida Keys Coral Reef Ecosystem

et al. 2016

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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 fish distribution patterns to inform and improve the precision of future surveys. We used a diver visual survey to quantify occupancy patterns of preexploitation‐size Black Grouper Mycteroperca bonaci and Red Grouper Epinephelus morio. The survey was based on a stratified random sampling design with strata reflecting cross‐shelf coral reef habitat types. A multiple spatial scale modeling approach confirmed a cross‐shelf occurrence gradient for Red Grouper, with higher nearer‐to‐shore occupancy probability and lower offshore occupancy probability. Black Grouper occurrence followed a latitudinal gradient, with higher occurrence probabilities in the lower Florida Keys than in the upper Keys. Local habitat characteristics measured within reef strata suggested that occupancy relationships for both species varied according to vertical relief. Our analysis also included multilevel slope coefficients (random effects), which revealed unforeseen variance structure in Black Grouper occurrence probability among cross‐shelf reef strata. Our study improves on previous qualitative observations of juvenile grouper distributions in the Florida Keys and highlights the use of multilevel models in revealing variance structures of fish distributions not revealed by fixed‐effects models. Our analysis contributes to a discussion about foraging characteristics in producing the observed distributional patterns, and we suggest that examining the links between the distributions of forage fishes and larger predators (i.e., groupers) would be a useful step in improving survey stratification schemes. Received February 23, 2015; accepted July 2, 2015

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cross‐Shelf Habitat Occupancy Probabilities for Juvenile Groupers in the Florida Keys Coral Reef Ecosystem

et al. 2016

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“…Less common is the integration of biotic variables into habitat studies, although it could be the key to understanding the ecological relationships necessary for effective ecosystem-based fisheries management (Johnson et al 2013). Temperature has often been cited as the key abiotic factor driving fish distributions in the EBS over the past three decades: a general northward shift in distribution in some EBS groundfish species corresponded with the decreasing areal extent of the cold pool (Kotwicki and Lauth 2013); the distributions of flathead sole (Hippoglossoides elassodon) and rock sole (Lepidopsetta spp.)…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat and infauna prey availability for flatfishes in the northern Bering Sea

Yeung

Yang

2014

Polar Biol

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Yellowfin sole (Limanda aspera), northern rock sole (Lepidopsetta polyxystra), and Alaska plaice (Pleuronectes quadrituberculatus) are valuable flatfishes in the southeastern Bering Sea (EBS) bottom trawl fishery. The northern Bering Sea (NBS) is near their northern distribution limit. We conducted the first assessment of NBS habitat suitability for these benthivorous flatfishes from the perspective of prey availability in 2010. Benthic samples were collected at 12 trawl stations along a meridional transect extending from 60.5°N to 64.5°N east of St. Lawrence Island to characterize the prey environment. Stomach contents from the flatfishes were concomitantly collected to relate diets to prey fields. The diet compositions did not correspond spatially with the infauna communities. The flatfishes elected a prey group regardless of its relative availability. The spatial mismatch between diet and infauna compositions suggests that prey availability was high in the NBS. The flatfishes generally have versatile diets, but they were more selective of their prey here than in the EBS. The biomass and the abundance of the infauna along the transect were comparable with the EBS. Although niche overlap was high in the NBS, competition for food was likely lower than in the EBS because of the lower density of flatfish. The bottom temperatures in the NBS were in the same range as the EBS during the summer of 2010. The NBS appears to be suitable flatfish habitat at least during the summer ice-free period. The effects of climate warming on the prey environment and on the production and distribution of flatfish are complex and difficult to predict, but if the NBS were to shift over time toward milder winter conditions that more resemble the EBS, its suitability as flatfish habitat would presumably increase based on the present prey availability.

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“…Spatial and bathymetric differences and patterns have been widely reported for the various metrics (e.g., Greenstreet and Hall 1996;Bianchi et al 2000) and they mainly reflect species and/or life-stage preferences for specific habitats and environmental conditions (e.g., Rogers et al 1999, Johnson et al 2013) and, at the large scale, patterns in fishing pressure and/or productivity (Bianchi et al 2000;Jennings et al 2005). For example, in the Ionian Sea, differences in species distribution and abundance are evident both along the North/South and the West/North axes and were generally attributed to fishing activities, as well as hydrological characteristics (Politou et al 2008a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mesoscale spatio-temporal dynamics of demersal assemblages of the Eastern Ionian Sea in relationship with natural and fisheries factors

Tsagarakis

Mytilineou

Haralabous

et al. 2013

Aquat. Living Resour.

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-Data from the MEDITS bottom trawl surveys in the Eastern Ionian Sea, covering a depth range of 28 to 845 m were analysed for the period 1998-2008. For each trawling location, environmental and geographical parameters were recorded, while biomass, abundance, biodiversity and size-based metrics were estimated for the total megafaunal community, as well as for four taxonomic sub-communities (Osteichthyes, Chondrichthyes, Crustacea and Cephalopoda) which were expected to respond differently to environmental changes and fishing. In addition, biomass and abundance of ten species selected based on commercial interest, depth range and life history traits were explored, with particular emphasis on deep-sea species. Fishing effort data collected during the study period were analysed and showed a decreasing trend, mainly due to a decrease in the activity of static nets. The relation between the estimated parameters and environmental and spatial factors, as well as temporal (interannual) effects and the effect of fishing effort were explored using generalized additive models (GAMs). Results of GAMs showed that depth and location explained much of the variation in community metrics, probably reflecting mesoscale spatial features and species/communities requirements. Even though the different communities and species exhibited variant patterns in bathymetric and spatial distribution, some common aggregation patterns in productive areas were identified. Despite the relatively short time series, GAMs were effective in detecting increasing trends for several metrics; taking into account spatial factors further contributed to attributing the remaining deviance to temporal effects. These trends were partly explained by the observed decline of fishing effort, which is further supported by the fact that negative relations between several metrics and fishing effort were identified, for some of the selected communities and populations. Abundance, species richness and maximum length proved the most informative metrics concerning the effect of fishing. The current decline in fishing effort in the area seems to be a move in the right direction and should be complemented by additional measures aiming to prevent allocation of effort towards the deep sea.

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Linking temperate demersal fish species to habitat: scales, patterns and future directions

Cited by 62 publications

References 195 publications

Cross‐Shelf Habitat Occupancy Probabilities for Juvenile Groupers in the Florida Keys Coral Reef Ecosystem

Cross‐Shelf Habitat Occupancy Probabilities for Juvenile Groupers in the Florida Keys Coral Reef Ecosystem

Habitat and infauna prey availability for flatfishes in the northern Bering Sea

Mesoscale spatio-temporal dynamics of demersal assemblages of the Eastern Ionian Sea in relationship with natural and fisheries factors

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