Oxygen isotope analysis of corals from the Gulf of California and the Gulf of Panama: application and implications for coral-based paleoclimate reconstructions [abstract]

EXTRACT (SEE PDF FOR FULL ABSTRACT): Coral-based reconstruction of past variability of sea surface conditions is improving our understanding of the tropical ocean-atmosphere system. We present oxygen isotope records from corals collected near the tip of Baja California (Baja) and the Gulf of Panama (Saboga).

Migrations of yellowfin tuna tagged off the southern coast of Mexico in 1960 and 1969

ENGLISH: The map method, the Jones method, the variance-covariance method, and the Skellam method were used to study the migrations of tagged yellowfin tuna released off the southern coast of Mexico in 1960 and 1969. The first three methods are all useful, and each presents information which is complementary to that presented by the others. The Skellam method, as used in this report, is less useful. The movements of the tagged fish released in 1960 appeared to have been strongly directed, but this was probably caused principally by the distribution of the fishing effort. The effort was much more widely distributed in 1970, and the movements of the fish released in 1969 appeared to have been much less directed. The correlation coefficients derived from the variance-covariance method showed that it was not random, however. The small fish released in the Acapulco and 10°N-100°W areas in 1969 migrated to the Manzanillo area near the beginning of February 1970. The medium and large fish released in the same areas in the same year tended to migrate to the southeast throughout the first half of 1970, however. SPANISH: El método de mapas, el de Jones, el de la variancia-covariancia y el de Skellam fueron empleados para estudiar las migraciones del atún aleta amarilla marcado y liberado frente a la costa meridional de México en 1960 y 1969. Los tres primeros métodos son todos útiles, y cada uno presenta información que complementa la presentada por los otros. El método de Skellam, conforme se usa en este informe, es menos útil. Parece que los desplazamientos de los peces marcados y liberados en 1960 hubieran sido fuertemente orientados, pero ésto probablemente fue causado principalmente por la distribución del esfuerzo de pesca. El esfuerzo se distribuyó más extensamente en 1970, y parece que los desplazamientos de los peces liberados en 1969 fueran menos orientados. Los coeficientes de correlación derivados del método variancia-covariancia indicaron, sin embargo, que no eran aleatorios. Los peces pequeños liberados en las áreas de Acapulco y los 10°N-100°W en 1969 migraron al área de Manzanillo a principios de febrero 1970. Los peces medianos y grandes liberados en las mismas áreas en el mismo año tuvieron, sin embargo, la tendencia a desplazarse al sudeste durante el primer semestre de 1970. (PDF contains 64 pages.)

Migrations of yellowfin tuna in the Eastern Pacific Ocean as determined from tagging experiments initiated during 1968-1974

ENGLISH: Data from tagging experiments initiated during 1968-1974 in the eastern Pacific Ocean were used to study the migrations of yellowfin tuna in that area. The map method, the parallel-area method, and the Jones method were employed in the analyses. The map method gives a useful impression of the distances and directions traveled, but does not express these parameters in quantitative terms. The parallel-area method is particularly useful for determining whether or not there is net movement in particular directions, i.e. inshore-offshore, east-west, or north-south. The first of these is of particular interest, as the incidence of smaller fish is much higher in the catches made inshore than in those made offshore, and it is desirable to know whether this is due to relatively greater abundance or to relatively greater vulnerability of the smaller fish in the inshore areas. If the former were the case an offshore movement of the fish as they grew older would probably be detected. Such a movement was not detected, however, so it appears likely that the differences in the catches of smaller fish in the inshore and offshore areas are due mainly to differences in vulnerability. Few or no east-west or north-south tendencies in the movements of the fish were detected. The Jones method indicates that the movement is not random, but reveals no pronounced directional tendencies. SPANISH: Se emplearon los datos de los experimentos de marcado, iniciados en el Océano Pacífico oriental durante 1968-1974 para estudiar los desplazamientos del atún aleta amarilla en esa zona. En los análisis se emplearon los métodos cartográficos, de las zonas paralelas y de Jones. El método cartográfico ofrece una idea útil sobre la distancia y dirección de los desplazamientos, pero no expresa estos parámetros en términos cuantitativos. El método de las zonas paralelas es particularmente conveniente para determinar si existe o nó un desplazamiento neto en una dirección especial, es decir, hacia la costa-fuera de la costa, este-oeste o norte-sur. El primero de éstos tiene un interés especial, ya que la incidencia de peces más pequeños es muy superior en las capturas realizadas cerca de la costa que en las de mar afuera, y se desea conocer si ésto se debe a la abundancia relativamente superior o a las vulnerabilidad relativamente mayor de los pequeños peces en las zonas costeras. Si el caso fuera el primero, se podría descubrir probablemente un movimiento de los peces mar afuera a medida que crecen. Sin embargo, no se ha descubierto tal movimiento, así que es probable que las diferencias en las capturas de peces pequeños en las zonas costeras y mar afuera se deban principalmente a diferencias en la vulnerabilidad. Se descubrió poca o ninguna tendencia en los peces a desplazarse este-oeste o norte-sur. El método de Jones indica que el movimiento no es aleatorio, pero no revela una tendencia pronunciada a orientarse direccionalmente.

Effects of trawling for ocean shrimp (Pandalus jordani) on macroinvertebrate abundance and diversity at four sites near Nehalem Bank, Oregon

Surveys with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) at four mudhabitat sites with different histories of ocean shrimp (Pandalus jordani) trawling showed measurable effects of trawling on macroinvertebrate abundance and diversity. Densities of the sea whip (Halipteris spp., P<0.01), the flat mud star (Luidia foliolata, P< 0.001), unidentified Asteroidea (P<0.05), and squat lobsters (unidentified Galathoidea, P<0.001) were lower at heavily trawled (HT) sites, as was invertebrate diversity based on the Shannon-Wiener index. Sea cucumbers (unidentified Holothuroidea) and unidentified corals (Hydrocoralia) were observed at lightly trawled (LT) sites but not at HT sites. Hagfish (Eptatretus spp.) burrows were the dominant structural feature of the sediment surface at all sites and were more abundant at the HT sites (P<0.05), a result potentially related to effects from fishery discards. Substantial heterogeneity was found between the northern and southern site pairs, indicating high site-to-site variability in macroinvertebrate densities in these deep (146–156 m) mud habitats. Two of the study sites were closed to trawling in June 2006. The data from this study can be used in combination with future surveys to measure recovery rates of deep, mud, seaf loor habitats from the effects of trawling, thus providing a critical piece of information for ecosystem-based management.

William Francis Thompson (1888–1965): a Preeminent Fishery Biologist of the Early and Mid Twentieth Century

William Francis Thompson (1888–1965) was a preeminent fishery scientist of the early to mid twentieth century. Educated at Stanford University in California (B.A. 1911, Ph.D. 1930), Thompson conducted pioneering research on the Pacific halibut, Hippoglossus stenolepis, from 1914 to 1917 for the British Columbia Provincial Fisheries Department. He then directed marine fisheries research for the State of California from 1917 to 1924, was Director of Investigations for the International Fisheries Commission from 1924 to 1939, and Director of the International Pacific Salmon Fisheries Commission from 1937 to 1942. He was also Director of the School of Fisheries, University of Washing-ton, Seattle, from 1930 to 1947. Thompson was the founding director in 1947 of the Fisheries Research Institute at the University of Washington and served in that capacity until his retirement in 1958. He was a dominant figure in fisheries research of the Pacific Northwest and influenced a succession of fishery scientists with his yield-based analysis of fishery stocks, as opposed to studying the fishes’environment. Will Thompson was also a major figure in education, and many of his former students attained leadership positions in fisheries research and administration.

William Francis Thompson (1888–1965) and His Pioneering Studies of the Pacific Halibut, Hippoglossus stenolepis

William Francis Thompson (1888–1965), as a temporary employee of the British Columbia Provincial Fisheries Department, was assigned in 1914 to under-take full-time studies of the Pacific halibut, Hippoglossus stenolepis. The fishery was showing signs of depletion, so Thompson undertook the inquiry into this resource, the first intensive study on the Pacific halibut. Three years later, Thompson, working alone, had provided a basic foundation of knowledge for the subsequent management of this resource. He published seven land-mark papers on this species, and this work marked the first phase of a career in fisheries science that was to last nearly 50 years.

William Francis Thompson (1888–1965) and the Dawn of Marine Fisheries Research in Californ

William Francis Thompson (1888–1965), an early fishery biologist, joined the California Fish and Game Commission in 1917 with a mandate to investigate the marine fisheries of the state. He initiated studies on the albacore tuna, Thunnus alalunga, and the Pacific sardine, Sardinops sagax, as well as studies on other economically important marine organisms. Thompson built up a staff of fishery scientists, many of whom later attained considerable renown in their field, and he helped develop, and then direct, the commission’s first marine fisheries laboratory. During his tenure in California, he developed a personal philosophy of research that he outlined in several publications. Thompson based his approach on the yield-based analysis of the fisheries as opposed to large-scale environmental studies. He left the state agency in 1925 to direct the newly formed International Fisheries Commission (now the International Pacific Halibut Commission). William Thompson became a major figure in fisheries research in the United States, and particularly in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, during the first half of the 20th cent

William Francis Thompson (1888–1965) and His Pioneering Studies of the Pacific Halibut, Hippoglossus stenolepis

William Francis Thompson (1888–1965), as a temporary employee of the British Columbia Provincial Fisheries Department, was assigned in 1914 to under-take full-time studies of the Pacific halibut, Hippoglossus stenolepis. The fishery was showing signs of depletion, so Thompson undertook the inquiry into this resource, the first intensive study on the Pacific halibut. Three years later, Thompson, working alone, had provided a basic foundation of knowledge for the subsequent management of this resource. He published seven land-mark papers on this species, and this work marked the first phase of a career in fisheries science that was to last nearly 50 years.

Caribbean corals in crisis: record thermal stress, bleaching, and mortality in 2005

Background: The rising temperature of the world’s oceans has become a major threat to coral reefs globally as the severity and frequency of mass coral bleaching and mortality events increase. In 2005, high ocean temperatures in the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean resulted in the most severe bleaching event ever recorded in the basin. Methodology/Principal Findings: Satellite-based tools provided warnings for coral reef managers and scientists, guiding both the timing and location of researchers’ field observations as anomalously warm conditions developed and spread across the greater Caribbean region from June to October 2005. Field surveys of bleaching and mortality exceeded prior efforts in detail and extent, and provided a new standard for documenting the effects of bleaching and for testing nowcast and forecast products. Collaborators from 22 countries undertook the most comprehensive documentation of basin-scale bleaching to date and found that over 80% of corals bleached and over 40% died at many sites. The most severe bleaching coincided with waters nearest a western Atlantic warm pool that was centered off the northern end of the Lesser Antilles. Conclusions/Significance: Thermal stress during the 2005 event exceeded any observed from the Caribbean in the prior 20 years, and regionally-averaged temperatures were the warmest in over 150 years. Comparison of satellite data against field surveys demonstrated a significant predictive relationship between accumulated heat stress (measured using NOAA Coral Reef Watch’s Degree Heating Weeks) and bleaching intensity. This severe, widespread bleaching and mortality will undoubtedly have long-term consequences for reef ecosystems and suggests a troubled future for tropical marine ecosystems under a warming climate

A new species and a new record of Sphaeromopsis Holdich and Jones, 1973 from Pakistan waters (Isopoda, Sphaeromatidae)

Sphaeromopsis minutus, sp. nov., the sixth species of Splitteromopsis Holdich and Jones is described and figured in detail. The genus Sphaeromopsis and species S. serriguberna Holdich and Harrison, 1981 is recorded for the first time from northern Arabian Sea, Karachi (Pakistan).