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Marine Ecology Progress Series

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MEPS is a leading hybrid research journal on all aspects of marine, coastal and estuarine ecology. Priority is given to outstanding research that advances our ecological understanding.

Online: ISSN 1616-1599

Print: ISSN 0171-8630

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps

Impact Factor2.1 (JCR 2025 release)

Article Acceptance Rate52.2% (2024)

Average Time in Review216 days (2024)

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Volume contents
Mar Ecol Prog Ser 637:117-140 (2020)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13211

copied

Spatial and temporal dynamics of Pacific capelin Mallotus catervarius in the Gulf of Alaska: implications for ecosystem-based fisheries management

ABSTRACT: Pacific capelin Mallotus catervarius are planktivorous small pelagic fish that serve an intermediate trophic role in marine food webs. Due to the lack of a directed fishery or monitoring of capelin in the Northeast Pacific, limited information is available on their distribution and abundance, and how spatio-temporal fluctuations in capelin density affect their availability as prey. To provide information on life history, spatial patterns, and population dynamics of capelin in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA), we modeled distributions of spawning habitat and larval dispersal, and synthesized spatially indexed data from multiple independent sources from 1996 to 2016. Potential capelin spawning areas were broadly distributed across the GOA. Models of larval drift show the GOA’s advective circulation patterns disperse capelin larvae over the continental shelf and upper slope, indicating potential connections between spawning areas and observed offshore distributions that are influenced by the location and timing of spawning. Spatial overlap in composite distributions of larval and age-1+ fish was used to identify core areas where capelin consistently occur and concentrate. Capelin primarily occupy shelf waters near the Kodiak Archipelago, and are patchily distributed across the GOA shelf and inshore waters. Interannual variations in abundance along with spatio-temporal differences in density indicate that the availability of capelin to predators and monitoring surveys is highly variable in the GOA. We demonstrate that the limitations of individual data series can be compensated for by integrating multiple data sources to monitor fluctuations in distributions and abundance trends of an ecologically important species across a large marine ecosystem.

KEYWORDS

Population dynamics Connectivity Spawning habitat Individual-based model Larval drift Small pelagic fish Forage fish

David W. McGowan (Corresponding Author)

  • School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
david.mcgowan@noaa.gov

Esther D. Goldstein (Co-author)

  • Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Seattle, WA 98115, USA

Mayumi L. Arimitsu (Co-author)

  • US Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, 250 Egan Dr., Juneau, AK 99801, USA

Alison L. Deary (Co-author)

  • Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Seattle, WA 98115, USA

Olav Ormseth (Co-author)

  • Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Seattle, WA 98115, USA

Alex De Robertis (Co-author)

  • Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Seattle, WA 98115, USA

John K. Horne (Co-author)

  • School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA

Lauren A. Rogers (Co-author)

  • Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Seattle, WA 98115, USA

Matthew T. Wilson (Co-author)

  • Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Seattle, WA 98115, USA

Kenneth O. Coyle (Co-author)

  • Institute of Marine Science, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7220, USA

Kristine Holderied (Co-author)

  • NOAA National Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Kasitsna Bay Laboratory, 95 Sterling Highway, Suite 2, Homer, AK 99603, USA

John F. Piatt (Co-author)

  • US Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, 4210 University Dr., Anchorage, AK 99508, USA

William T. Stockhausen (Co-author)

  • Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Seattle, WA 98115, USA

Stephani Zador (Co-author)

  • Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Seattle, WA 98115, USA

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