Marine Ecology Progress Series
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.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14856
copiedSubantarctic Front variability: a potential driver of Patagonian scallop Zygochlamys patagonica recruitment fluctuations
ABSTRACT:
The Patagonian scallop Zygochlamys patagonica sustains an important economic resource in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean and presents recruitment variability in beds associated with the shelf break front. The aim of this study was to analyze the environmental drivers acting on recruits that may cause large population abundance fluctuations on interannual timescales. Scallop recruitment data from 2000 to 2007 were analyzed alongside oceanographic variables from remote sensing and bottom temperature measurements from surveys. A statistically significant correlation was identified between interannual recruitment variability and the northernmost latitude of the Subantarctic Front (SAF) (catch per unit effort vs. SAF position, r = 0.81, p < 0.05). When the SAF displaces northwards, bottom temperature is lower, and recruitment is enhanced as larvae have more time to develop and more chances to avoid advection to the open ocean. Conversely, if the SAF displaces southward, recruitment is negatively affected because the larvae do not have enough time to settle before being exported to the oceanic realm. Results are discussed considering the planktonic larval duration, larval depth distribution, connection between beds, bottom temperature variability, and the SAF latitudinal position and its role as the northern population boundary. Potential impacts of climate change on recruitment dynamics are also discussed.
KEYWORDS
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M. Torres Alberto (Corresponding Author)
- Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC/UNMdP-CONICET), B7600 Mar del Plata, Argentina
- Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Pesquero (INIDEP), B7602 Mar del Plata, Argentina
N. Bodnariuk (Co-author)
- Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera (CIMA/CONICET-UBA), C1053 Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Instituto Franco-Argentino para el Estudio del Clima y sus Impactos (UMI IFAECI/ CNRS-CONICET-UBA), B1015 Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Departamento de Ciencias de la Atmósfera y los Océanos (FCEN, UBA), C1053 Buenos Aires, Argentina
M. Saraceno (Co-author)
- Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera (CIMA/CONICET-UBA), C1053 Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Instituto Franco-Argentino para el Estudio del Clima y sus Impactos (UMI IFAECI/ CNRS-CONICET-UBA), B1015 Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Departamento de Ciencias de la Atmósfera y los Océanos (FCEN, UBA), C1053 Buenos Aires, Argentina
E Acha (Co-author)
- Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC/UNMdP-CONICET), B7600 Mar del Plata, Argentina
- Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Pesquero (INIDEP), B7602 Mar del Plata, Argentina
Handling Editor:
Alejandro Gallego, Aberdeen, UK
Reviewers:
N. Caputi, B.R. Broitman and 1 anonymous referee
Acknowledgements:
the extremely energetic environment in which populations persist, larvae likely prioritize remaining near the seafloor, making their larval swimming behavior less relevant in this context. Regarding vertical transport, we are currently employing an ocean reanalysis to assess its importance in the dispersion of scallop larvae. This analysis, which goes beyond the scope of the present study, is based on the Mercator product—an ocean circulation data set that is widely used in the region and extensively validated. In our simulation of passive particle advection, we observe that the primary mechanism transporting the larvae is horizontal transport. There exists a horizontal time scale associated with the distance traveled by larvae along the current flow until they reach the BMC. The longer (shorter) the distance traveled, the greater (smaller) is the number of scallops that could reach the seafloor. Therefore, we have chosen to adopt a 2D perspective for this study, acknowledging that large-scale 2D circulation features play the leading role in conditioning larval dynamics. This does not imply that vertical transport is unimportant—in fact, we recognize its significance, as cited in the literature. However, we consider it to play a secondary role in complementing the zero-order picture proposed in this study. We are currently investigating this aspect, which will be the subject of a forthcoming study.