posted on 2024-01-02, 11:17authored byChristopher M. Martinez, Daniel E. Duplisea, Thomas J. Miller, Michael G. Frisk
No abstracts are to be cited without prior reference to the author.
The impacts of climate variability on coastal ecosystems are dependent on several factors, including assemblage structure and geographic locality. Moreover, in areas of intense harvest, removals often contribute to instability of populations and may increase the ability of climate to cause community-level reorganization. We used trawl survey data from the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service to assess the impact of these factors on the spatial structure of four contiguous Northwest Atlantic communities. We used ordinary least squares regression (OLS) to evaluate the interspecific abundance-occupancy (A-O) relationship for each community. Yearly A-O slopes and coefficients of determination served as indices of organismal density and spatial heterogeneity, respectively. The indices were regressed on time series of average surface temperature, Gulf Stream location and regional landings data. We found the strength of trends to increase with latitude, coinciding with regional shifts in assemblage structure. There was also regionally variable evidence for the effect of each external factor on community spatial utilization. Our results highlight the complexity and variety of biological responses to disturbance, even for adjacent communities. Lastly, our research will be important for future evaluations focused on ecological impacts of extrinsic factors on communities, beyond simple depletion or translocation of populations.
Theme Session B: Responses of living marine resources to climate change and variability: learning from the past and projecting the future (co-sponsored by PICES)
Abstract reference
B:39
Recommended citation
[Authors]. 2013. Trends in Northwest Atlantic Habitat Occupation: Joint Effects of Climate Variation and Harvest Removals. 2013 ICES Annual Science Conference, Reykjavik, Iceland. CM 2013/B:39. https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.pub.24753144