National Marine Fisheries Service

About: National Marine Fisheries Service is a government organization based out in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Fisheries management. The organization has 3949 authors who have published 7053 publications receiving 305073 citations. The organization is also known as: NOAA Fisheries & NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service.

Gymnodinium breve red tide blooms: Initiation, transport, and consequences of surface circulation

Abstract: From its source waters in the Gulf of Mexico the red tide dinoflagellate, Gymnodinium breve is moved throughout its oceanic range by major currents and eddy systems. The continental shelf off the west coast of Florida experiences frequent G. breve blooms (in 21 of the last 22 years) where the spatially explicit phases of G. breve blooms are closely coupled to physical processes. Bloom initiation occurs offshore and in association with shoreward movements of the Loop Current or spinoff eddies. A midshelf front maintained by seasonal wind reversals along the Florida west coast may serve as a growth and accumulation region for G. breve blooms and contribute to the reinoculation of nearshore waters. Local eddy circulation in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico and in the Dry Tortugas affects the retention and coastal distribution of blooms while the Florida Current and Gulf Stream transport cells out of the Gulf of Mexico and into the U.S. South Atlantic Bight. The causes of bloom dissipation are not well known but mixing or disruption of the water mass supporting G. breve cells, especially in combination with declining water temperatures, are important factors.

Forage and migration habitat of loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) sea turtles in the central North Pacific Ocean

Abstract: Satellite telemetry from 26 loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and 10 olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) sea turtles captured and released from pelagic longline fishing gear provided information on the turtles’ position and movement in the central North Pacific. These data together with environmental data from satellite remote sensing are used to describe the oceanic habitat used by these turtles. The results indicate that loggerheads travel westward, move seasonally north and south primarily through the region 28–40°N, and occupy sea surface temperatures (SST) of 15–25°C. Their dive depth distribution indicated that they spend 40% of their time at the surface and 90% of their time at depths <40 m. Loggerheads are found in association with fronts, eddies, and geostrophic currents. Specifically, the Transition Zone Chlorophyll Front (TZCF) and the southern edge of the Kuroshio Extension Current (KEC) appear to be important forage and migration habitats for loggerheads. In contrast, olive ridleys were found primarily south of loggerhead habitat in the region 8–31°N latitude, occupying warmer water with SSTs of 23–28°C. They have a deeper dive pattern than loggerheads, spending only 20% of their time at the surface and 60% shallower than 40 m. However, the three olive ridleys identified from genetics to be of western Pacific origin spent some time associated with major ocean currents, specifically the southern edge of the KEC, the North Equatorial Current (NEC), and the Equatorial Counter Current (ECC). These habitats were not used by any olive ridleys of eastern Pacific origin suggesting that olive ridleys from different populations may occupy different oceanic habitats.

Marine protected areas and ocean basin management

Abstract: 1. All reserve designs must be guided by an understanding of natural history and habitat variability. 2. Differences in scale and predictability set aside highly dynamic pelagic systems from terrestrial and nearshore ecosystems, where wildlife reserves were first implemented. Yet, as in static systems, many pelagic species use predictable habitats to breed and forage. Marine protected areas (MPAs) could be designed to protect these foraging and breeding aggregations. 3. Understanding the physical mechanisms that influence the formation and persistence of these aggregations is essential in order to define and implement pelagic protected areas. We classify pelagic habitats according to their dynamics and predictability into three categories: static, persistent and ephemeral features. 4. While traditional designs are effective in static habitats, many important pelagic habitats are neither fixed nor predictable. Thus, pelagic protected areas will require dynamic boundaries and extensive buffers. 5. In addition, the protection of far-ranging pelagic vertebrates will require dynamic MPAs defined by the extent and location of large-scale oceanographic features. 6. Recent technological advances and our ability to implement large-scale conservation actions will facilitate the implementation of pelagic protected areas. 7. The establishment of pelagic MPAs should include enforcement, research and monitoring programmes to evaluate design effectiveness. 8. Ultimately, society will need a holistic management scheme for entire ocean basins. Such overarching management will rely on many innovative tools, including the judicious use of pelagic MPAs. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Selection in Captivity during Supportive Breeding May Reduce Fitness in the Wild

Abstract: I used a quantitative genetic model to explore the effects of selection on the fitness of a wild population subject to supportive breeding Supportive breeding is the boosting of a wild population's size by breeding part of the population in captivity and releasing the captive progeny back into the wild The model assumes that a single trait is under selection with different optimum trait values in the captive and wild environments The model shows that when the captive population is closed to gene flow from the wild population, even low levels of gene flow from the captive population to the wild population will shift the wild population's mean phenotype so that it approaches the optimal phenotype in captivity If the captive population receives gene flow from the wild, the shift in the wild population's mean phenotype becomes less pronounced but can still be substantial The approach to the new mean phenotype can occur in less than 50 generations The fitness consequences of the phenotypic shift depend on the details of the model, but a>30% decline in fitness can occur over a broad range of parameter values The rate of gene flow between the two environments, and hence the outcome of the model, is sensitive to the wild environment's carrying capacity and the population growth rate it can support The results have two important implications for conservation efforts First, they show that selection in captivity may significantly reduce a wild population's fitness during supportive breeding and that even continually introducing wild individuals into the captive population will not eliminate this effect entirely Second, the sensitivity of the model's outcome to the wild environment's quality suggests that conserving or restoring a population's habitat is important for preventing fitness loss during supportive breeding

Climate impacts on eastern Bering Sea foodwebs: a synthesis of new data and an assessment of the Oscillating Control Hypothesis

Abstract: ICES Journal of Marine Science; doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsr036 Climate impacts on eastern Bering Sea foodwebs: a synthesis of new data and an assessment of the Oscillating Control Hypothesis George L. Hunt Jr 1 *, Kenneth O. Coyle 3 , Lisa B. Eisner 4 , Edward V. Farley 4 , Ron A. Heintz 4 , Franz Mueter 5 , Jeffrey M. Napp 2 , James E. Overland 6 , Patrick H. Ressler 2 , Sigrid Salo 6 , and Phyllis J. Stabeno 6 School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, PO Box 355020, Seattle, WA 98195, USA NOAA-National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115, USA Institute of Marine Science, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7220, USA NOAA-National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Auke Bay Laboratories, 17109 Pt. Lena Loop Rd., Juneau, AK 99801, USA Juneau Center, School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 11120 Glacier Highway, Juneau, AK 99801, USA NOAA/OAR Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, 7600 Sand Point Way, NE, Seattle, WA 98115 –6249, USA *Corresponding Author: tel: +1 206 441 6109; fax: +1 260 685 7471; e-mail: geohunt2@uw.edu Hunt, G. L., Coyle, K. O., Eisner, L. B., Farley, E. V., Heintz, R. A., Mueter, F., Napp, J. M., Overland, J. E., Ressler, P. H., Salo, S., and Stabeno, P. J. Climate impacts on eastern Bering Sea foodwebs: a synthesis of new data and an assessment of the Oscillating Control Hypothesis. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsr036 Received 29 June 2010; accepted 17 February 2011. Walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) is an important component of the eastern Bering Sea ecosystem and subject to major fisheries. The Oscillating Control Hypothesis (OCH) predicted that recruitment of pollock year classes should be greatest in years with early ice retreat and late blooms in warm water, because more energy would flow into the pelagic (vs. benthic) community. The OCH further predicted that, with pollock population growth, there should be a shift from bottom-up to top-down regu- lation. New data support the predictions that in those years with early ice retreat, more primary production accrues to the pelagic compartment and that large numbers of age-0 pollock survive to summer. However, in these years, production of large crustacean zooplankton is reduced, depriving age-0 pollock of lipid-rich prey in summer and autumn. Consequently, age-0 pollock energy reserves (depot lipids) are low and predation on them is increased as fish switch to age-0 pollock from zooplankton. The result is weak recruitment of age-1 recruits the following year. A revised OCH indicates bottom-up constraints on pollock recruitment in very warm periods. Prolonged warm periods with decreased ice cover will likely cause diminished pollock recruitment and catches relative to recent values. Keywords: Bering Sea, climate change, crustacean zooplankton, Oscillating Control Hypothesis, sea ice cover, Theragra chalcogramma, walleye pollock, year-class strength. Introduction The Oscillating Control Hypothesis (OCH) was developed as a conceptual model of how walleye pollock (Theragra chalco- gramma) recruitment in the southeastern Bering Sea might be affected by climate variability (Hunt et al., 2002a, 2008). The OCH was based on several assumptions about the relation- ships between temperature, zooplankton, and the growth and survival of young pollock. It was an extension of the ideas of Walsh and McRoy (1986) working in the Bering Sea and of Bailey (2000), who had determined that the control of walleye pollock recruitment in the Gulf of Alaska had shifted from bottom-up control of early larval survival to top-down control of juvenile stages. The OCH extended Bailey’s work by attempting to develop explicit mechanistic hypotheses that would link pollock recruitment to the effects of climate in the southeastern Bering Sea. This paper reviews the assumptions and predictions of the OCH (Hunt et al., 2002a) and updates the OCH to account for new information available since 2002. The result is a new version of the OCH, which still predicts variation in the dominant mechanism for control of pollock recruitment and now hypothesizes that the dominant mechanism affecting pollock recruitment in stanzas of very warm years will be bottom-up impacts on the survival of age-0 pollock in their first autumn and winter. The eastern Bering Sea supports major fisheries, the largest of which is for walleye pollock, a gadid that is or has been the subject of fisheries throughout the northern Pacific Ocean from Puget Sound, WA, to the east coast of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk (Hunt and Drinkwater, 2005). In the eastern Bering Sea, pollock biomass expanded rapidly in the 10 years after the 1976/ 1977 “regime shift” (Hare and Mantua, 2000), buoyed by the extra- ordinarily strong 1978 year class (Ianelli et al., 2010). Because International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Published by Oxford Journals. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com