Atlantic surfclam connectivity within the Middle Atlantic Bight: Mechanisms underlying variation in larval transport and settlement

Zhang, Xinzhong; Munroe, Daphne M.; Haidvogel, Dale B.; Powell, Eric N.

doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2016.02.019

Cited by 27 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 53 publications

(84 reference statements)

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“…Surveys subsequent to 2011 used a larger dredge and different survey vessel and, consequently, have been excluded to eliminate the uncertainty imposed by conflation of data from gears of differential efficiency and selectivity. Figure 1 shows the location of each tow across the entirety of the surfclam survey domain from 1982 to 2011 and the subdivisions of the region (DMV, NJ, LI, SNE, and GBK) historically used for assessment of the status of the stock (NEFSC 2007) and used by Zhang et al (2015Zhang et al ( , 2016 to examine larval transport dynamics throughout the MAB.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of the Relationship of Stock and Recruitment in the Atlantic Surfclam Spisula solidissima in the Northwestern Atlantic Ocean

Timbs

Powell

Mann

2018

Journal of Shellfish Research

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Atlantic surfclams support a major commercial fishery in the western North Atlantic Ocean with landings consistently between 15,000 and 25,000 metric tons since 1982. The stock is not and historically has not been overfished nor has overfishing occurred; however, in recent years landings per unit effort have declined. Surfclams are a biomass dominant on the continental shelf and a bellwether of climate change in the northwestern Atlantic. This study investigated the relationship of broodstock and recruitment during a period when Mid-Atlantic warming initiated a shelf-wide shift in the surfclams range. A species distribution function model was used to assess the effective area occupied by surfclams for five study regions (Delmarva, New Jersey, Long Island, Southern New England, and Georges Bank). The effective area occupied by small surfclams was consistently much greater than that for large ($120 mm) surfclams. Three independent statistical analyses of the stock-recruitment relationship found little evidence of a significant association in any of the five regions, suggesting that factors besides spawning stock biomass (SSB) are primary determinants of recruitment success. Interannual variability in recruitment, in part associated with variations in larval transport and in part associated with spatially different rates of mortality post-settlement, is an important source of uncertainty and warming bottom waters driving surfclams into new habitat may decouple any inherent interaction between recruits and SSB. A recruitment index obtained from a fishery-independent survey across the range of the stock, as a consequence, is unlikely to usefully presage changes in abundance of the fishable stock. The wider distribution of settlers relative to the fishable stock, however, positions the species well to respond to changing bottom water temperatures as Mid-Atlantic warming continues.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of the Relationship of Stock and Recruitment in the Atlantic Surfclam Spisula solidissima in the Northwestern Atlantic Ocean

Timbs

Powell

Mann

2018

Journal of Shellfish Research

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“…Surfclam larval transport pathways and subpopulation interconnectivity were simulated using a coupled modeling system that combined a Regional Ocean Modeling Systembased circulation model implementation for the MAB, Georges Bank, and the Gulf of Maine ( Fig. 1) and an individual-based surfclam larva model that simulates larval growth and behavior (Zhang et al 2015(Zhang et al , 2016. The latter permits surfclam larvae to move vertically in the water column, which is essential for simulating transport (Shanks & Brink 2005, Ma et al 2006.…”

Section: Larval Transport-dispersion Gradientmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The simulated particle trajectories offer a possible mechanism for offshore surfclam expansion. Seasonal shifts in particle trajectories occurred, with preferential movement inshore during one portion of the spawning season and offshore during other periods (Zhang et al 2016). An extended spawning season (Ropes 1968, Jones 1981, noteworthy for surfclams, allows taking advantage of this differential in transport.…”

Section: Larval Transport-dispersion Gradientmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Simulations of transport of scallop larvae spawned on Georges Bank show that recruitment to the MAB is possible (Tian et al 2009); however, recruitment is intermittent and dependent on the coincidence of several biological (e.g., spawning time) and physical (Scotian Shelf circulation) factors. Surfclam larvae spawned on Georges Bank can reach the southern New England shelf, but the degree to which Georges Bank is a primary source population remains unknown (Zhang et al 2015(Zhang et al , 2016.…”

Section: Lessons Learnedmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An Overview of Factors Affecting Distribution of the Atlantic Surfclam (Spisula solidissima), a Continental Shelf Biomass Dominant, During a Period of Climate Change

Hofmann

Powell

Klinck

et al. 2018

Journal of Shellfish Research

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“…cruitment. A net downcoast drift of larvae previously identified in larval dispersion studies was not included because postsettlement mortality appears to have a much larger effect on patchiness (Zhang et al, 2015(Zhang et al, , 2016: postsettlement mortality was incorporated into the model as patchy recruitment. Additional assumptions were made regarding the influence of climate change on the stock and commercial fishery over the simulated timespan of fishing years used to compare performance metrics (76 years).…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Management strategy evaluation for the Atlantic surfclam (Spisula solidissima) using a spatially explicit, vessel-based fisheries model

Kuykendall¹,

Powell²,

Klinck³

et al. 2017

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Abstract-The commercially valuable Atlantic surfclam (Spisula solidissima) is harvested along the northeastern continental shelf of the United States. Its range has contracted and shifted north, driven by warmer bottom water temperatures. Declining landings per unit of effort (LPUE) in the Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB) is one result. Declining stock abundance and LPUE suggest that overfishing may be occurring off New Jersey. A management strategy evaluation (MSE) for the Atlantic surfclam is implemented to evaluate rotating closures to enhance Atlantic surfclam productivity and increase fishery viability in the MAB. Active agents of the MSE model are individual fishing vessels with performance and quota constraints influenced by captains' behavior over a spatially varying population. Management alternatives include 2 rules regarding closure locations and 3 rules regarding closure durations. Simulations showed that stock biomass increased, up to 17%, under most alternative strategies in relation to estimated stock biomass under present-day management, and LPUE increased under most alternative strategies, by up to 21%. When incidental mortality caused by the fishery increased, the benefits seen under the alternative management were enhanced. These outcomes suggest that area management involving rotating closures could be valuable in insulating the stock and the commercial fishery from further declines as a northerly shift in range proceeds.The Atlantic surfclam (Spisula solidissima) is an economically valuable bivalve common to the sandy bottoms off the northeastern coast of the United States and Canada (Weinberg, 2005). The range of the Atlantic surfclam before recent effects of global warming spanned the western North Atlantic Ocean continental shelf from Nova Scotia to northern South Carolina, at depths of 10 m to 50 m, and temperature determines the range boundaries (Goldberg and Walker, 1990;Weinberg, 1998 ally not found where average bottom temperatures exceed 25°C (Cargnelli et al., 1999). Atlantic surfclams are relatively sessile planktivorous filter feeders that rarely vacate their burrow unless resuspended by storms or they are escaping predators (Ropes and Merrill, 1973; Prior et al., 1979), after which they rapidly reburrow into the substrate (Weinberg, 2005). The life span of Atlantic surfclam is approximately 30 years and has a maximum-recorded shell length (SL) of 226 mm (Fay et al. 3 ;Cargnelli et al., 1999;Munroe et al., 2016). The range of Atlantic surfclam has been shifting north and offshore since approximately 1970, driven primarily by warming bottom water temperatures (Cargnelli et al., 1999; 3 Fay, C. W., R. J. Neves, and G. B. Pardue. 1983 and Ropes, 1977; Powell 4 ; Hofmann et al., in press) and the shift of the southern fishery from the Delmarva Peninsula to ports north . From the 1997 to 1999 period, the Atlantic surfclam population was considered to be near carrying capacity (NEFSC 2 ). Abundances were once high on the continental shelf off the Delmarva Peninsula, but declines in grow...

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Atlantic surfclam connectivity within the Middle Atlantic Bight: Mechanisms underlying variation in larval transport and settlement

Cited by 27 publications

References 53 publications

Assessment of the Relationship of Stock and Recruitment in the Atlantic Surfclam Spisula solidissima in the Northwestern Atlantic Ocean

Assessment of the Relationship of Stock and Recruitment in the Atlantic Surfclam Spisula solidissima in the Northwestern Atlantic Ocean

An Overview of Factors Affecting Distribution of the Atlantic Surfclam (Spisula solidissima), a Continental Shelf Biomass Dominant, During a Period of Climate Change

Management strategy evaluation for the Atlantic surfclam (Spisula solidissima) using a spatially explicit, vessel-based fisheries model

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