Author : Stephanie Anne Boudreau
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 450 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (863 download)
Book Synopsis Explaining Variation in American Lobster (HOMARUS AMERICANUS) and Snow Crab (CHIONOECETES OPILIO)abundance in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean by : Stephanie Anne Boudreau
Download or read book Explaining Variation in American Lobster (HOMARUS AMERICANUS) and Snow Crab (CHIONOECETES OPILIO)abundance in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean written by Stephanie Anne Boudreau and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ABSTRACT Cont'd : Second, I explored relationships between lobster abundance and landings in the NW Atlantic as they may relate to temporal changes in predators, temperature, climate (North Atlantic Oscillation Index, NAOI), and fishing. Available landings data and fisheries-independent abundance estimates were collated to investigate trends in lobster abundance and catch. Links between lobster, groundfish, temperature and climate indices were explored using mixed effects models. Results offered partial support for the predation hypothesis, namely in the waters off Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and southern New England as well as broad support for a climate effect on early life stages. This effect appeared related to a region-wide climate signal, the NAOI, but was independent of changes in water temperature. Fishing effort appeared to be following lobster abundance, rather than regulating abundance in a consistent way. Third, variation in snow crab abundance was examined through meta-analysis of time-series data of cod and crab abundance and temperature. Temperature had opposing effects on the two species: snow crab abundance was negatively correlated with temperature whereas cod and temperature were positively related. Controlling for the effect of temperature, the analysis revealed significant negative interactions between snow crab and cod abundance, with cod leading snow crab up to a five-year lag. Results indicate that snow crab is largely influenced by temperature during early post-settlement years and becomes increasingly regulated by top-down mechanisms as they approach fishery recruitment. Overall, I conclude that both climate and predation can act as population controls on large decapod populations, but these variables affect decapods at different life stages.