Life Sciences Commons^™

Marine Wild-Capture Fisheries After Nuclear War, Kim J. N. Scherrer, Cheryl S. Harrison, Ryan F. Heneghan, Eric Galbraith, Charles G. Bardeen, Joshua Coupe, Jonas Jägermeyr, Nicole S. Lovenduski, August Luna, Alan Robock, Jessica Stevens, Samantha Stevenson, Owen B. Toon, Lili Xia

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Nuclear war, beyond its devastating direct impacts, is expected to cause global climatic perturbations through injections of soot into the upper atmosphere. Reduced temperature and sunlight could drive unprecedented reductions in agricultural production, endangering global food security. However, the effects of nuclear war on marine wild-capture fisheries, which significantly contribute to the global animal protein and micronutrient supply, remain unexplored. We simulate the climatic effects of six war scenarios on fish biomass and catch globally, using a state-of-the-art Earth system model and global process-based fisheries model. We also simulate how either rapidly increased fish demand (driven by food shortages) or …

Utah Land Management Evaluation And Assessment Network Needs Assessment, Jordan Smith

All Current Publications

It can be difficult to make and implement land management decisions that are informed by the best available science, satisfy different stakeholders, and are compliant with established policies and regulations. Local, state, and federal entities with the capacity to influence land management decisions, can benefit from an understanding of the shared needs of landowners and managers. This needs assessment reports on the shared information, funding, and research needs expressed by land managers and owners throughout Utah who make decisions about: (1) fire prevention and suppression; (2) livestock grazing; (3) fisheries; or (4) wildlife. The report provides a high-level assessment of …

Human Vs. Bear: Who Needs Salmon More?, Brittany N. Savercool

Scientific Communication News

No abstract provided.

Cpue Standardization For The Pacific Saury (Cololabis Saira) Fishery In The Northwest Pacific, Wen-Bin Huang, Chih-Hao Hsieh, Tai-Sheng Chiu, Wei-Ting Hsu, Chih-Shin Chen

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

In stock assessment and fisheries management, the standardization of catch per unit effort (CPUE) is critical to derive an effective index of the abundance of exploited fish stocks. In addition to developing various statistical models, a method including the relative fishing power (RFP) of individual vessels has been developed from an intuition concept and applied to bottom trawl fisheries using logbookbased data. This is a convenient and traightforward approach for standardizing the catch-effort data of a fishery. The Pacific saury is a pelagic fish species, and its stock in the Northwest Pacific has been targeted by international fleets since the …

Prospects For The Sustainable Management Of Public Oyster Resources, Thomas M. Soniat, Nathan A. Cooper, Eric N. Powell

Faculty Publications

Common-pool resources such as public oyster grounds are especially vulnerable to overexploitation and habitat loss. Like those elsewhere, oyster populations and habitat of Louisiana public grounds are in decline. To maintain reef habitat and increase oyster abundance, a sustainable harvest model is applied, which allows harvest above that required to maintain reef cultch stasis. The model is restrained to promote shell gain by limiting fishing by area, type (sack versus seed), effort, and season. Harvest quotas and cultch removal rates derived from shell-budget–based modeling are a foundation for sustainable management of public oyster resources.

Analysis Of Unconventional Oil And Gas Impacts On Downstream Fish Assemblages And Physiological Stress, Joshua Noah Ankeny

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Unconventional Oil and Gas (UOG) production has been steadily expanding throughout the mid-Atlantic since 2008. Increased sedimentation, degraded water chemistry and an overall decrease in habitat quality due to UOG is anticipated to negatively impact aquatic inhabitants, a common observation in other stressed landscapes (i.e., mining, agriculture, development). We assessed stream health through both community analysis and physiological parameters (i.e., growth and hematocrit). A before-after-control-impact study uncovered three fish metrics that were significantly different following UOG disturbances. The invertivore-piscivore metric decreased following UOG disturbance (p = 0.045) whereas two benthic metrics saw a surprising increase (p = 0.003 and p …

Management Strategy Evaluation: Transdisciplinary And Transparent Natural Resource Management, Eileen Hofmann, Lisa Maddison, Ingrid Van Putten

CCPO Publications

Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) is a modelling tool used to evaluate sufficiently realistic simulations of potential policy choices in complex systems. As a contribution to the Integrated Marine Biosphere Research (IMBeR) project IMBIZO V, which occurred in October 2017, a workshop was convened with the goal of developing a coherent understanding of best-practice approaches for MSEs. MSEs are becoming standard approaches to characterizing risk across fisheries management organizations globally. MSEs are important tools that aid in delineating objectives, costs, and constraints that define risk and provide a possible mechanism to meet assessment challenges. The MSE workshop considered case studies drawn …

Changes In Walleye Fecundity And Egg Size Before, During, And After Rehabilitation Of The Red Lakes Fishery, Benjamin J. Miller, Benjamin D. Erb

Journal of Earth and Life Science

The Red Lakes in northern Minnesota experienced a major Walleye Sander vitreus fishery crash in the late 20th century, but has since recovered to record abundances and supports a major commercial and recreational fishery. Fecundity is an integral aspect of recruitment that can contribute greatly to the understanding of fishery population dynamics. To elucidate the effects of varying Walleye densities and exploitation rates on fecundity and egg size in years 1989 (overexploited fishery), 2004 (recovering fishery), and 2017 (recovered fishery), we analyzed linear models that related fecundity or egg size to morphological features for these three sampling periods. Walleyes were …

Seasonal Spatial Segregation In Blue Sharks (Prionace Glauca) By Sex And Size Class In The Northeast Pacific Ocean, Sara M. Maxwell, Kylie L. Scales, Steven Bograd, Dana K. Briscoe, Heidi Dewar, Elliott L. Hazen, Rebecca L. Lewison, Heather Welch, Larry B. Crowder

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Aim: Animal tracking can provide unique insights into the ecology and conservation of marine species, such as the partitioning of habitat, including differences between life history stages or sexes, and can inform fisheries stock assessments, bycatch reduction and spatial management such as dynamic management.

Location: Northeast Pacific Ocean.

Methods: We used satellite tracking data from 47 blue sharks (Prionace glauca) from the Northeast Pacific to determine movements and home range along the west coast of North America, and sex–size class (immature females, mature males) specific habitat preferences using boosted regression trees. Using a suite of static and dynamic …

Managing Lake Fertility Within The Guidelines Of A Nutrient Management Plan And Based On Algal Nutrient Limitation, Bradley J. Austin, J. Thad Scott, Brian E. Haggard

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

The specific objectives were to first, monitor nutrients, algal biomass, and water clarity in lakes Cove, Spring, and Wedington. Second, evaluate whether algal growth in each of the lakes was limited by N, P, or both N and P. This research was conducted to help USFS better manage lake fertilization to maximize algal growth and improve the fisheries within these lakes.

Growth Of Pelagic Age-0 Yellow Perch In Relation To Hatch Dates And Water Temperature In North-Central Minnesota Lakes, Ethan Karppinen

Biology Graduate Theses

Exposure to consistent water warming rates and access to abundant populations of edible sized zooplankton affects growth and increases the probability of survival for newly hatched Yellow Perch Perca flavescens. Seven lakes with varying physical characteristics were selected in north-central Minnesota to study abiotic (water temperature) and biotic (zooplankton community and fish growth) progressions during the spring and early summer (April-June). Mean water temperatures from ice-out to 28 June (11.98-14.62 °C) had significant relationships with mean depth (P < 0.01, R? = 0.85), max depth (P < 0.01, R? = 0.73), and total volume (P < 0.01, R2 = 0.54). Hatch periods ranged from 13 to 19 days in 2015 and 13 to 25 days in 2016. Cumulative degree-days (CDD) were used to predict Yellow Perch hatch periods and explain growth. CDD predicted 21-81% of hatch periods in 2015 and 11-50% in 2016. Mean predicted total lengths at 28 June were 19.65-30.41 mm in 2015 and 20.88-28.54 mm in 2016. There was a significant relationship between CDD and predicted total length (R? = 0.62, P < 0.01) to explain differences in Yellow Perch total length while inhabiting the pelagic zone. Observed gape measurements were highly correlated with predicted gapes from the Schael formula (R? = 0.89, P < 0.01) that was used to assess the availability of edible sized zooplankton for age-0 Yellow Perch in each lake. No predator-prey mismatches were found and earlier hatch dates produced age-0 Yellow Perch with greater predicted total lengths in late June on the majority of lakes. This suggests that earlier hatched Yellow perch have an advantage over later hatched Yellow Perch in attaining greater lengths by late June. Our study provides information on a variety of physical and biological progressions in lakes, which may be used for fisheries management practices in the future.

The Importance Of Keeping The Big Ones: Harvest Slot Limits And Marine Protected Areas For The Management Of The Caribbean Spiny Lobster, Gayathiri Gnanalingam

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Fishing typically removes the oldest and/or largest individuals from populations undermining stability and reproductive success. Traditional fisheries management tools fail to protect these oldest and/or largest individuals, but two less conventional tools: marine protected areas (MPAs), and harvest slot limits have the potential to do so. Here I tested the possible use of these tools for the Caribbean spiny lobster, Panulirus argus, an iconic and economically valued species. After decades of intense fishing, the largest lobsters have largely been wiped out. The loss of the largest lobsters is significant as large lobsters have considerably greater reproductive potential than their …

Western Australian Sea Cucumber Resource - Harvest Strategy 2018-2023, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development

Fisheries Management Papers

This publication of harvest strategies is intended to make the decision-making considerations and processes for the management of specified aquatic resources publicly transparent and provide a basis for informed dialogue on management actions with resource users and other stakeholders.

Ocean Futures Under Ocean Acidification, Marine Protection, And Changing Fishing Pressures Explored Using A Worldwide Suite Of Ecosystem Models, Erik Olsen, Isaac C. Kaplan, Cameron Ainsworth, Gavin Fay, Sarah Gaichas, Robert Gamble, Raphael Girardin, Cecilie H. Eide, Thomas F. Ihde

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Ecosystem-based management (EBM) of the ocean considers all impacts on and uses of marine and coastal systems. In recent years, there has been a heightened interest in EBM tools that allow testing of alternative management options and help identify tradeoffs among human uses. End-to-end ecosystem modeling frameworks that consider a wide range of management options are a means to provide integrated solutions to the complex ocean management problems encountered in EBM. Here, we leverage the global advances in ecosystem modeling to explore common opportunities and challenges for ecosystem-based management, including changes in ocean acidification, spatial management, and fishing pressure across …

Growth Rate And Hatch Date Of Age-0 Fishes On Leech Lake, Minnesota Before Zebra Mussel Establishment, Kayla Morey, Emily Larson

Journal of Earth and Life Science

The introduction of an invasive species to an ecosystem is considered a very severe environmental problem. Zebra Mussel veligers Dreissena polymorpha have recently been found in Leech Lake, Minnesota, and are likely going to have a large influence on this ecosystem. Zebra Mussels are filter-feeders that rely on phytoplankton and zooplankton as their main source of energy. A shift in populations of plankton due to Zebra Mussels may affect the growth rates of larval fish. Median hatch dates and growth rates were estimated from four age-0 fish species (Yellow Perch Perca flavescens, Walleye Sander vitreus, Smallmouth Bass Micropterus …

Seasonal Fluctuations Of Zooplankton, Dissolved Oxygen, And Temperature In Lake Bemidji, Minnesota, Cody Coyle

Journal of Earth and Life Science

With the current influx of aquatic invasive species in Minnesota lakes, the status of zooplankton has become vital. Zooplankton are at the base of all food chains in aquatic ecosystems, ecosystems that vary greatly throughout a year’s time. The objectives of this study were to 1) track the location of zooplankton throughout the water column for an entire year, and 2) establish relationships between zooplankton location and specific water column characteristics. Zooplankton, dissolved oxygen, and temperature samples were collected bi-monthly at various depths at the deepest point in the southern basin of Lake Bemidji. Zooplankton were most abundant in the …

Ocean Futures Under Ocean Acidification, Marine Protection, And Changing Fishing Pressures Explored Using A Worldwide Suite Of Ecosystem Models, Erik Olsen, Isaac C. Kaplan, Cameron Ainsworth, Gavin Fay, Sarah Gaichas, Robert Gamble, Raphael Girardin, Cecilie H. Eide, Thomas F. Ihde, Hem Nalini Morzaria-Luna, Kelli F. Johnson, Marie Savina-Rolland, Howard Townsend, Mariska Weijerman, Elizabeth A. Fulton, Jason S. Link

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Ecosystem-based management (EBM) of the ocean considers all impacts on and uses of marine and coastal systems. In recent years, there has been a heightened interest in EBM tools that allow testing of alternative management options and help identify tradeoffs among human uses. End-to-end ecosystem modeling frameworks that consider a wide range of management options are a means to provide integrated solutions to the complex ocean management problems encountered in EBM. Here, we leverage the global advances in ecosystem modeling to explore common opportunities and challenges for ecosystem-based management, including changes in ocean acidification, spatial management, and fishing pressure across …

Hardbottom Mapping And Community Characterization Of The West-Central Florida Gulf Coast, December 2011 - June 2016, Brian K. Walker, Rene Baumstark, Sean Keenan, Cory Ames

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Datasets

The continental shelf off Florida’s west coast is a mosaic of fish habitats including seagrass beds and carbonate reef outcroppings (hard bottom) classified by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) as Essential Fish Habitat. Habitat maps and community baseline data, however, are nonexistent for a majority of the region. This collaborative effort between Nova Southeastern University, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, NMFS and other scientists will characterize and map continental shelf seagrass and hard bottom habitats in nearshore areas fished by many recreational fishermen. Objectives include: 1) map hard bottom and seagrass beds using various data types including sonar …

Strong Population Structure Deduced From Genetics, Otolith Chemistry And Parasite Abundances Explains Vulnerability To Localized Fishery Collapse In A Large Sciaenid Fish, Protonibea Diacanthus, Laura Taillebois, Diane P. Barton, David Crook, Thor Saunders, Jonathan Taylor, Mark Hearnden, Richard J. Saunders, Stephen J. Newman, Michael J. Travers, David J. Welch, Alan Greig, Christine Dudgeon, Safia Maher, Jennifer Ovenden

Fisheries Research Articles

As pressure on coastal marine resources is increasing globally, the need to quantitatively assess vulnerable fish stocks is crucial in order to avoid the ecological consequences of stock depletions. Species of Sciaenidae (croakers, drums) are important components of tropical and temperate fisheries and are especially vulnerable to exploitation. The black-spotted croaker, Protonibea diacanthus, is the only large sciaenid in coastal waters of northern Australia where it is targeted by commercial, recreational and indigenous fishers due to its food value and predictable aggregating behaviour. Localized declines in the abundance of this species have been observed, highlighting the urgent requirement by managers …

Using Knowledge Of Shark Biology And Behavior To Inform Management And Conservation Efforts For The Globally Distributed And Fishery Exploited Shortfin Mako (Isurus Oxyrinchus), Mark Rubinas

HCNSO Student Capstones

The shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus) is a regionally endothermic lamnid shark with a circumglobal distribution in temperate and tropical waters. This species has special adaptations for a highly migratory, apex predator lifestyle, including specialized anatomical structures, the retia mirabilia, that allows maintenance of a higher than ambient internal body temperature, a higher percentage of red muscle fibers located closer to its body core compared to ectothermic sharks, and specialized dermal denticles to help achieve the remarkable swimming speeds for efficient predation. However, many parts of the life history of the shortfin mako are still unknown, and difficult to …

Estimating Seasonal Variation In Condition Of Yellow Perch, Emily Anne Powers

Biology Graduate Theses

Research has shown that Yellow Perch Perca flavescens, found throughout lakes and streams of North America, are good indicators of environmental health. Due to the correlation between fish condition and ecosystem health it is essential to reliably estimate condition to better manage our fisheries. Therefore, the study objectives were to measure the seasonal changes in adult Yellow Perch percent dry weight (PDW), and compare the reliability of bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and morphometric-based estimates of condition. The seasonal fluctuations in average monthly PDW were measured over a two- year period and were sinusoidal in shape with peaks in August 2015 …

Fisheries Management Paper No.283 - Abalone Resource Of Western Australia Harvest Strategy 2106 - 2021, Department Of Fisheries Western Australia

Fisheries Management Papers

Harvest strategies for aquatic resources managed by the Western Australian Department of Fisheries (the Department) are formal documents prepared to support the decision-making processes required to ensure the management of these resources are consistent with the principles of Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD). The objectives of ESD are reflected in the objects of the Fish Resources Management Act 1994 (FRMA) and Section 9 of the Aquatic Resources Management Act, which will replace the FRMA once proclaimed.

The publication of these strategies is intended to make the decision-making considerations and processes for the management of specified aquatic resources publicly transparent and provide …

Fish Spawning Aggregations: Where Well-Placed Management Actions Can Yield Big Benefits For Fisheries And Conservation, Brad Erisman, William Heyman, Shinichi Kobara, Tal Ezer, Simon Pittman, Octavio Aburto-Oropeza, Richard S. Nemeth

CCPO Publications

Marine ecosystem management has traditionally been divided between fisheries management and biodiversity conservation approaches, and the merging of these disparate agendas has proven difficult. Here, we offer a pathway that can unite fishers, scientists, resource managers and conservationists towards a single vision for some areas of the ocean where small investments in management can offer disproportionately large benefits to fisheries and biodiversity conservation. Specifically, we provide a series of evidenced-based arguments that support an urgent need to recognize fish spawning aggregations (FSAs) as a focal point for fisheries management and conservation on a global scale, with a particular emphasis placed …

Improving The Spatial Allocation Of Functional Group Biomasses In Spatially-Explicit Ecosystem Models: Insights From Three Gulf Of Mexico Models, Arnaud Gruss, Elizabeth A. Babcock, Skyler Sagarese, Michael Drexler, David D. Chagaris, Cameron H. Ainsworth, Brad Penta, Sergio Derada, Tracey Sutton

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Spatially-explicit ecosystem models, such as Ecospace, Atlantis, and OSMOSE, are key tools for achieving ecosystem-based fisheries management in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). In spatially-explicit ecosystem models, trophic interactions strongly depend on the way functional group biomasses are allocated spatially, which conditions patterns of spatial overlap between predators, prey, and competitors. Here, we review realized and ongoing improvements in the spatial allocation of functional group biomasses in Ecospace and OSMOSE models of the West Florida Shelf ("WFS Reef fish Ecospace" and "OSMOSE-WFS") and in the Atlantis model of the GOM ("Atlantis-GOM"). A habitat capacity model, which defines the spatial distribution …

Assessment Of American White Pelican Predation And Reproductive Success Of Walleye In The Tamarac River, Mn, Jake Graham

Biology Graduate Theses

The Tamarac River is a major tributary of the Red Lakes MN, which provides an economically important multispecies fishery. The river experiences spring spawning migrations of northern pike, walleye, and white suckers. However, limited data exists related to reproductive success of fishes in the river. Furthermore, in the previous decade large congregations of American white pelicans (AWPE) have been observed using the Tamarac River as a foraging ground each spring. Assessing reproductive success of fishes in the Tamarac River provides a more holistic understanding of fish ecology in the river and the importance of the Tamarac River to the Red …

Sea Turtle Conservation: Reviewing The Efficacy Of Land- And Sea-Based Management Strategies For Loggerhead (Caretta Caretta) And Leatherback (Dermochelys Coriacea) Sea Turtles, Glenn D. Goodwin

HCNSO Student Capstones

As cosmopolitan species, loggerhead and leatherback turtles are confronted with a multitude of threats as they progress through their respective life stages. These range from depredation and poaching of eggs, hatchlings, and females on nesting beaches, to incidental hooking in pelagic longline fisheries and capture in trawl fisheries. Some threats are species specific on regional scales, though most impact both species. To confront these threats, various conservation strategies have been developed and implemented, including monitoring and caging of nests and changes to hook shape and trawl design. Here, current conservation methods are presented and discussed on a global scale for …

Fishing Diseased Abalone To Promote Yield And Conservation, Tal Ben-Horin, Kevin D. Lafferty, Gorka Bidegain, Hunter S. Lenihan

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Past theoretical models suggest fishing disease-impacted stocks can reduce parasite transmission, but this is a good management strategy only when the exploitation required to reduce transmission does not overfish the stock. We applied this concept to a red abalone fishery so impacted by an infectious disease (withering syndrome) that stock densities plummeted and managers closed the fishery. In addition to the non-selective fishing strategy considered by past disease- fishing models, we modelled targeting (culling) infected individuals,which is plausible in red abalone because modern diagnostic tools can determine infection without harming landed abalone and the diagnostic cost is minor relative to …

Age, Growth And Natural Mortality Of Blackfin Snapper Lutjanus Buccanella From The Southeastern United States And U. S. Caribbean, Michael L. Burton, Jennifer C. Potts, Daniel R. Carr

Gulf and Caribbean Research

We determined ages of Blackfin Snapper (Lutjanus buccanella Cuvier 1828; n = 622) collected from the southeastern United States coast and U.S. Caribbean from 1979–2015 using sectioned sagittal otoliths. Opaque zones were determined to be annular, forming March – July (peaking in April–June). Blackfin Snapper ranged from 1–27 years and from 180–609 mm total length (TL). Body size relationships for Blackfin Snapper were: TL = 1.09 FL + 0.81 (n = 203, r2 = 0.99); FL = 0.91 TL + 3.38 (n = 203, r2 = 0.99); TL = 1.23 SL + 14.27 (n = 83, r2 = 0.97); FL …

Comparing Reproductive Capacity Of Nearshore And Offshore Red Snapper, Lutjanus Campechanus, On Artificial Reefs In The Western Gulf Of Mexico, Ricky J. Alexander

Theses and Dissertations

Red snapper collected quarterly from four artificial reefs in south Texas were examined to compare total length, total weight, age, and the proportion of male to female red snapper, calculate gonadosomatic index values, batch fecundity, annual spawning frequency, and annual fecundity, and estimate size and age at maturity. Spawning occurred from April to September, with most active spawning observed in June (58%). Despite larger red snapper producing more eggs, and fish being larger offshore, most active spawning (68%) and egg production (74%) was observed nearshore. Female red snapper reached 50% maturity (L50) between 350-550 mm, and L75 by 600 mm. …

Assessing The Contributions Of Two Stocked Strains On A Minnesota-Wisconsin Border Water, Douglas Zentner

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Stocking has long been used as a management tool in the United States even though many of its effects remain cryptic. Past comparisons between stocked strains were generally based on the survival and growth rates of physically marked individuals. More recently the use of genetic markers to assess contributions of stocked individuals has been employed by fisheries managers. Using 13 microsatellite markers we assessed the contributions of two muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) strains (Wisconsin and Leech) stocked into the St. Louis River Estuary. Ancestry in the adult samples remained relatively constant with differences only observed between the 2008 and …