Changes in the spatial structure of Grand Bank yellowtail flounder: testing MacCall's basin hypothesis |
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| Institution: | 1. Grupo Ecología Marina Aplicada y Pesquerías, Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Estudios Ambientales y Recursos Naturales i-UNAT, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Campus de Tafira, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35017 Las Palmas, Spain;2. Direção de Serviços de Investigação e Desenvolvimento das Pescas, Estrada da Pontinha, 9004-562 Funchal, Madeira, Portugal;3. Instituto Nacional de Desenvolvimento das Pescas, C.P.132 Mindelo, São Vicente, Cabo Verde;1. Environmental Bio-Geochemistry Group, Geochemistry Department, Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Coyoacán, Ciudad Universitaria, México, D.F., 04510, México;2. Environmental Bio-Geochemistry Group, Earth Sciences Graduate Program, Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Coyoacán, Ciudad Universitaria, México, D.F., 04510, México;3. Facultad de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Coyoacán, México, D.F., 04510, México;1. Centre for Fisheries Ecosystems Research, Fisheries and Marine Institute, Memorial University of Newfoundland, P.O. Box 4920, St. John’s, NL, A1C 5R3, Canada;2. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre, P.O. Box 5667, St. John’s, NL, A1C 5X1, Canada;2. Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, 8901 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA |
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| Abstract: | MacCall's basin model postulates that the geographic range of marine fish will co-vary with population density as a function of habitat selection. Therefore the geographic range of a stock will increase with increasing abundance, while the opposite is true of declining stocks. In this paper we investigated range contraction, and expansion, in the distribution of yellowtail flounder on the Grand Banks in relation to sediment type, temperature and depth. Yellowtail flounder were mainly distributed on gravely sand, sand-shell hash, rock-sandy sediments an to a lesser extent on rocky bottoms. As well, yellowtail flounder are highly associated with shallow, warmer waters more frequently than expected based on its occurrence in the environment. Employing a generalised additive model (GAM), we modelled the spatial distribution of yellowtail flounder in association with the environmental variables. The GAM provided a reasonable fit to the spatial distribution of yellowtail (58% overall). During periods of lower abundance, the fit of the spatial model increased, demonstrating the importance of depth and temperature in influencing the distribution of this species. We concluded that the observed range contraction of yellowtail flounder at low population levels represents selection for preferred habitats, whereas during periods of stock increase, the range of yellowtail flounder expands into less favourable habitats in support of MacCall's basin hypothesis. |
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