[1] To investigate the iron cycle at Station A4 in the Oyashio region of the western subarctic Pacific, we developed a 1-D ecosystem model consisting of 14 components including the iron cycle. The parameters associated with the iron cycle were optimized by assimilating monthly averaged data from time series observations for depth-integrated net primary production, nitrate, silicate, dissolved and particulate iron within the surface mixed layer (ML) and at two depths (200 and 300 m depth). The model successfully reproduced the observations and demonstrated that (1) on an annual basis, winter mixing of subsurface water supplies more dissolved iron (Fe d ) to the ML than does dust dissolution, (2) Fe d concentration in the ML rapidly declines to near-depletion during the peak period of the diatom bloom in spring, which results in an increasing consumption ratio of silicate to nitrogenous nutrients by diatoms as they become more iron-limited, causing a more rapid decrease of silicate compared to that of nitrogenous nutrients in the ML, followed by the silicate limitation of diatoms, and (3)
A two-dimensional individual-based fish movement model coupled with fish bioenergetics was developed to simulate the observed migration and growth of Japanese sardine (Sardinops melanostictus) in the western North Pacific. In the model, derived from the observed ocean-environmental data as the driving force, fish movement was adapted as a kinesis behavior. The model successfully simulated the observed transport patterns during the egg and larval stages and the northward migrations during the juvenile stage in 2005, 2006 and 2007. The model results showed that both temperature during the larval stage in the Kuroshio Extension and the prey availability during the early juvenile stage in the Kuroshio-Oyashio transitional area are important factors for growth of Japanese sardine. In autumn, the observed juvenile sardine were mainly distributed in the subarctic water region off the Kuril Islands, which is an area (158-165°E, 43-47°N) with a high chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentration. The model reproduced the fish distribution, which has a high density in this region. The high Chl-a concentration area in autumn may contribute to increasing the survival rate of Japanese sardine by cascading up the food chain, from the high primary production, and is an important habitat for recruitment success of Japanese sardine.
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