Worldwide distributions of tuna larvae: revisiting hypotheses on environmental requirements for spawning habitats

Reglero, Patricia; Tittensor, Derek P.; Álvarez-Berastegui, Diego; Aparicio‐González, Alberto; Worm, Boris

doi:10.3354/meps10666

Cited by 82 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…These demands on food supply are compounded by the larger school sizes of the younger fish. It is noteworthy that the larvae of the three species have been found only in the more productive waters of the purse seine fishery (Reglero, Tittensor, Alvarez‐Berastegui, Aparicio‐González, & Worm, ). We also note that there are numerous physiological models that contain functions describing changes in metabolism with the size, age and species of fish (e.g., Lehodey, Senina, & Murtugudde, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat analysis of the commercial tuna of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean

Harrison

Hinton

et al. 2018

Fisheries Oceanography

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We have extracted information on the habitats of bigeye (Thunnus obesus), skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis) and yellowfin (Thunnus albacares) in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean by matching the spatial‐temporal distribution of catch and effort of purse seine and longline fleets collected by the Inter‐American Tropical Tuna Commission with oceanographic conditions and subjecting the matched data to Quotient Analysis and General Additive Models (GAMs). These analyses yielded the following results. The habitats defined by the GAM analysis of young fish differ significantly between two periods, one before and one after the introduction of fish aggregation devices (FADs). This was not true for the older fish caught by longline. We speculate that these changes were caused by the extensive use of FADs. Younger bigeye and yellowfin caught by the purse seine fleet have a different preference of environmental variables compared to older fish caught by longline. This is to be expected since tuna of different age groups have different sizes, metabolic capabilities and swimming skills. Moreover, as revealed by GAMs, the habitats of young fish differ between species to a much larger degree than those of older fish. Our results indicate the fundamental differences between fishing methods, targeted species, and operating region of the two fisheries. Specifically, young bigeye occupy equatorial waters farther from the coast and where the hypoxic layer is deeper, young skipjack occupy more productive waters associated with equatorial and coastal upwelling, and young yellowfin occupy broad areas where waters are underlain by a shallow hypoxic layer.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat analysis of the commercial tuna of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean

Harrison

Hinton

et al. 2018

Fisheries Oceanography

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“…The aims of the current study were twofold: (i) to determine whether there is evidence of yellowfin tuna residency around Ascension Island and to characterize the spatial and temporal extent of these interactions; and (ii) to investigate possible spawning activity that may confer a degree of demographic independence on resident populations. Although the major Atlantic spawning grounds for yellowfin tuna are thought to be located in the continental shelf areas of the Gulf of Guinea and the Gulf of Mexico (Arocha, Lee, Marcano, & Marcano, ), larval distributions suggest that some spawning may occur throughout the tropics (Reglero, Tittensor, Álvarez‐Berastegui, Aparicio‐González, & Worm, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Residency and reproductive status of yellowfin tuna in a proposed large‐scale pelagic marine protected area

Richardson¹,

Downes

Nolan³

et al. 2018

Aquatic Conservation

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Since the year 2000, the designation of remote, large‐scale marine protected areas (LSMPAs) has closed over 15 × 106 km2 of ocean to commercial fishing. Yet, while these mega‐reserves have collectively made a major contribution toward meeting global targets for marine conservation, their effectiveness for the protection of highly mobile, pelagic species remains largely unknown. This study reports on the spatial behavior and reproductive status of yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) inhabiting a proposed LSMPA around Ascension Island (tropical Atlantic), with the aim of evaluating the conservation benefits for this economically important species. Using a combination of satellite archival tags and conventional mark–recapture it was shown that individual tuna can remain within Ascension Island waters for periods of between 100 and 200 days, with core residency areas (50% “utilization distributions”) generally extending <200 km from shore. The vast majority of activity occurred within 92.6 km (50 nmi) of the island and coincided with a “no‐take zone” established around the island in 2016. However, dispersive movements out of this zone were observed in some satellite‐tagged individuals, possibly marking the beginning of more extensive oceanic migrations. Gonad staging of 342 individuals sampled over a 32 month period found no evidence of reproductively active (ripe) individuals, strongly suggesting that tuna foraging around Ascension Island migrate elsewhere to breed. Study results provide further evidence of the importance of oceanic islands as residency areas for pelagic megafauna, helping to justify their inclusion within LSMPAs. In the absence of local recruitment, however, these individuals will remain susceptible to exploitation on spawning grounds located outside of reserves, ultimately limiting their effectiveness and thus calling for further research to identify and protect the areas where species are most vulnerable.

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“…Collected larvae were typically small, with mean lengths of ~4 mm (~7 days or less of age), suggesting that they were collected within the same water mass where they were spawned (Muhling et al ., ). In situ observations indicate that adults target specific habitats or oceanographic features as spawning grounds (Reglero et al ., ), as they can detect and respond to oceanographic gradients (Humston et al ., ; Wilson et al ., ; Fromentin et al ., ). For example, bluefin tuna larvae have been consistently collected in the Loop Current front (Richards et al ., ) and were generally more abundant within the boundary of mesoscale anticyclonic features in the GOM (Lindo‐Atichati et al ., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variability of preferred environmental conditions for Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) larvae in the Gulf of Mexico during 1993–2011

Domingues

Goñi

Bringas

et al. 2016

Fisheries Oceanography

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The Gulf of Mexico (GOM) is the primary spawning ground for western Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus). In this work, information reported by previous studies about the preferred environmental conditions for the occurrence of bluefin tuna larvae in the GOM is integrated into a dimensionless index, the BFT_Index. This index is used to evaluate the spatial and temporal variability of areas with favorable environmental conditions for larvae within the GOM during 1993-2011. The main findings of this work are that: (i) the proposed index successfully captures the spatial and temporal variability in the in situ occurrence of bluefin tuna larvae; (ii) areas with favorable environmental conditions for larvae in the GOM exhibit year-to-year spatial and temporal variability linked with mesoscale ocean features and sea surface temperature; and (iii) comparison of the BFT_Index-derived variability with recruitment of age-0 fish estimated from recent stock assessment indicates that changes in environmental conditions may drive a relevant component (~58%) of the recruitment variability. The comparison with the recruitment dataset further revealed the existence of key regions linked with recruitment in the central/northern GOM, and that the Loop Current may function as a trap for larvae, possibly leading to low survival rates. Above (below) average conditions for occurrence of larvae in the GOM during spring were observed in

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Worldwide distributions of tuna larvae: revisiting hypotheses on environmental requirements for spawning habitats

Cited by 82 publications

References 44 publications

Habitat analysis of the commercial tuna of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean

Habitat analysis of the commercial tuna of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean

Residency and reproductive status of yellowfin tuna in a proposed large‐scale pelagic marine protected area

Variability of preferred environmental conditions for Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) larvae in the Gulf of Mexico during 1993–2011

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