Modeling the processes affecting larval haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) survival on Georges Bank
Citable URI
https://hdl.handle.net/1912/4462Location
Georges BankDOI
10.1575/1912/4462Abstract
The ultimate goal of early life studies of fish over the past century has been to better
understand recruitment variability. Recruitment is the single most important natural
event controlling year-class strength and biomass in fish populations. As evident in
Georges Bank haddock, Melanogrammus aeglefinus, there is a strong relationship
between recruitment success and processes occurring during the planktonic larval stage.
Spatially explicit coupled biological-physical individual-based models are ideal for
studying the processes of feeding, growth, and predation during the larval stage. This
thesis sought new insights into the mechanisms controlling the recruitment process in fish
populations by using recent advances in biological-physical modeling methods together
with laboratory and field data sets. Interactions between feeding, metabolism and
growth, vertical behavior, advection, predation, and the oceanic environment of larval
haddock were quantitatively investigated using individual-based models. A mechanistic
feeding model illustrated that species-specific behavioral characteristics of copepod prey
are critically important in determining food availability to the haddock larvae.
Experiments conducted with a one-dimensional vertical behavior model suggested that
larval haddock should focus on avoiding visual predation when they are small and
vulnerable and food is readily available. Coupled hydrodynamics, concentration-based
copepod species, and individual-based larval haddock models demonstrated that the
increased egg hatching rates and lower predation rates on larvae in 1998 contributed to its
larger year-class. Additionally, results from these coupled models imply that losses to
predation may be responsible for interannual variability in recruitment and larval
survival. The findings of this thesis can be used to better manage the haddock population
on Georges Bank by providing insights into how changes in the physical and biological
environment of haddock affect their survival and recruitment, and more generally about
the processes significant for larval fish survival.
Description
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution February 2011
Collections
Suggested Citation
Thesis: Petrik, Colleen M., "Modeling the processes affecting larval haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) survival on Georges Bank", 2011-02, DOI:10.1575/1912/4462, https://hdl.handle.net/1912/4462Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Questioning the rise of gelatinous zooplankton in the world's oceans
Condon, Robert H.; Graham, William M.; Duarte, Carlos M.; Pitt, Kylie A.; Lucas, Cathy H.; Haddock, Steven H. D.; Sutherland, Kelly R.; Robinson, Kelly L.; Dawson, Michael N.; Decker, Mary Beth; Mills, Claudia E.; Purcell, Jennifer E.; Malej, Alenka; Mianzan, Hermes; Uye, Shin-Ichi; Gelcich, Stefan; Madin, Laurence P. (American Institute of Biological Sciences, 2012-02)During the past several decades, high numbers of gelatinous Zooplankton species have been reported in many estuarine and coastal ecosystems. Coupled with media-driven public perception, a paradigm has evolved in which the ... -
CTD profile data from ROV Doc Ricketts dives during R/V Western Flyer DEEPC cruises off the California coast from 2016 to 2019
Haddock, Steven H. D. (Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO). Contact: bco-dmo-data@whoi.edu, 2021-01-13)CTD data from ROV Doc Ricketts dives that were conducted during the R/V Western Flyer MBARI DEEPC Cruise that took place from 2016 to 2019. The data include samples taken by the ROV on the way down and up. For a complete ... -
CTD data for SiphWeb project from ROV's during the R/V Western Flyer MBARI DEEPC cruises, 2019 and 2020
Haddock, Steven H. D.; Choy, C. Anela; Dunn, Casey W. (Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO). Contact: bco-dmo-data@whoi.edu, 2021-01-11)CTD data for SiphWeb project from ROV's during the R/V Western Flyer MBARI DEEPC cruises, 2019 and 2020. For a complete list of measurements, refer to the full dataset description in the supplemental file 'Dataset_desc ...