Water Temperature at Different Depths Affects the Distribution of Neon Flying Squid (Ommastrephes bartramii) in the Northwest Pacific Ocean

Abstract

Ommastrephes bartramii can vertically swim during its life, and previous studies have suggested the need to account for preferred habitat distribution influenced by water temperatures at different depths. To explore the impacts of deep-water temperature on O. bartramii spatial distribution, we constructed generalized additive models (GAMs) based on the Chinese squid-jigging fishery data and the Argo deep water temperature data during 2005–2018 in the Northwest Pacific Ocean to analyze the relationships between the local abundance of O. bartramii and deep-water temperatures. The results showed that the variables including surface water temperature (T0), water temperature at 30- and 100-m depths (T30 and T100), and water differences between T0 and T30 (D0–30) significantly affected the spatial distribution of O. bartramii. The suitable ranges of each variable are different, > 15.5°C for T0, 11–18°C for T30, < 6°C for T100, and 4–4.5°C for D0–30. The areas occupied by the suitable T30 seemed to reflect the outline of fishing ground, whereas the areas with suitable T100 were to indicate the high density of O. bartramii. The predicted suitable habitat area and high-density area for O. bartramii are also regulated by El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. We demonstrated how the estimates of O. bartramii spatial distribution would vary influenced by deep-water temperatures in the Northwest Pacific Ocean. This information may help develop an appropriate method for investigating the effects of deep-water temperature on species with vertical migration.

Effects of Kuroshio and Mesoscale Eddy on Fishing Ground Gravity of Neon Flying Squid Ommastrephes bartramii in Northwest Pacific Ocean

“…These El Niño/La Niña events affect the Kuroshio-Oyashio transition area through the temperature dynamics that modulated by the Kuroshio transport [24]. According to previous studies, the optimal ranges of the SST for suitable habitat area of Ommastrephes bartramii ranged between 15-20 • C [3,11,39]. In our study, the isothermal lines for 15 8).…”

“…It has been found that the distribution of squid is influenced by the vertical distribution of seawater temperatures in the North Pacific [3] and that warm eddies during periods of instability in the Kuroshio contribute to the formation of high squid production areas [6]. However, to understand the relationship between squid distribution, eddies and the Kuroshio, more research is needed to achieve quantitative analysis through modelling studies, e.g., adding the Kuroshio index as a factor in the model.…”

“…In the temperate and partly tropical regions, Ommastrephes bartramii prefer to inhabit warm waters and cold boundary currents, respectively. Sea surface temperature plays an important role in the distribution of Ommastrephes bartramii, which occurs in areas with sea surface temperatures between 10 • C and 25 • C [1][2][3].…”

“…The neon flying squid in the North Pacific migrate to the feeding grounds in subarctic waters and return to the spawning grounds in subtropical waters [8,9]. The distribution of squid fishing grounds is influenced by several marine environmental factors, in particular, the sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface salinity (SSS), and sea surface height (SSH) are considered to be the most influential environmental factors affecting the distribution of the potential squid fishing grounds [3,[10][11][12][13][14]. In addition, chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentration, climate change, eddy kinetic energy (EKE), and wind stress curl also affect potential fishing grounds for squid [4,10,15].…”

Modeling of swordtip squid (Uroteuthis edulis) monthly habitat preference using remote sensing environmental data and climate indices

“…The SSTB is a crucial environmental component that significantly impacts the distribution, behavior, and ecological dynamics of squid. Studying the correlation between the temperature of the ocean floor and squid may provide significant knowledge for the management of fisheries, conservation initiatives, and forecasts of how squid populations would react to changes in environmental circumstances (Wang et al, 2022). Notably, temperature changes influence the growth and development of the squid reproductive system (Boavida-Portugal et al, 2010;Wang et al, 2013;Pang et al, 2020).…”