The spawning habitats of many large marine pelagic predators are poorly known. This lack of knowledge hampers conservation efforts that are aimed at identifying critical habitats for the spawning of these species. We hypothesized that phylogenetically related species show different adaptations and respond differently to environmental and geographical cues for...
Certain ecological processes dominate others at particular scales, and the response of populations to exogenous and endogenous forces are typically scale dependent. In spite of this central role played by scale, the temporal and spatial scales of human impacts on ecosystems and populations remain almost unknown. We applied a multiscale...
We developed a hybrid cellular automata (CA) modelling approach to explore the dynamics of a key predator–prey interaction in a marine system; our study is motivated by the quest for better understanding of the scale and heterogeneity-related effects on the arrowtooth flounder (Atheresthes stomias) and walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) dynamics...
Using national crop and livestock production records from 1961–2003 and satellite-derived data on pasture greenness from 1982–2003 we show that the productivity of crops, livestock, and pastures in Africa is predictably associated with the El Niño Southern Oscillation and the North Atlantic Oscillation. The causal relations of these results are...
Seascape ecology is an emerging discipline focused on understanding how features of the marine habitat influence the
spatial distribution of marine species. However, there is still a gap in the development of concepts and techniques for its
application in the marine pelagic realm, where there are no clear boundaries delimitating...
Despite being well adapted for feeding in cold water on their North Atlantic feeding
grounds, Atlantic bluefin tuna undertake long migrations to reach warm, low productivity spawn -
ing grounds in the Gulf of Mexico and Mediterranean Sea. Environmental conditions within
spawning areas have been presumed to benefit larval survival,...
Population growth is affected by several factors such as climate, species interaction
and harvesting pressure. However, additional complexity can arise if fishing increases the sensitivity
to environmental variability. To predict the effects of fisheries and climate on marine populations,
there is a need for improved understanding of how they affect...
In marine populations, spatial structure arises over a wide range of scales and forms
hierarchical aggregations. Changing spatial structure can alter the demographic and life history
trait variation within populations and subject individuals to both novel environmental conditions
and interspecific interactions. Thus, changes in the spatial structure of marine populations...
This study examines potential interactions among the environmental variables likely to
affect larval walleye pollock Theragra chalcogramma feeding in the sea. Walleye pollock larvae were
sampled from Shelikof Strait, Gulf of Alaska, and from the eastern Bering Sea, with corresponding
environmental data. Variables used in our study were time spent...
In this article we consider the current educational needs for science and policy in marine resource management, and we propose a way to address them. The existing literature on cross-disciplinary education in response to pressing environmental problems is vast, particularly in conservation biology. However, actual changes in doctoral-level marine science...