Survey- and fishery-derived estimates of Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) biomass: implications for strategies to reduce interactions between groundfish fisheries and Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus)

Survey- and fishery-derived biomass estimates have indicated that the harvest indices for Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) within a portion of Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) critical habitat in February and March 2001 were five to 16 times greater than the annual rate for the entire Bering Sea-Aleutian Islands stock. A bottom trawl survey yielded a cod biomass estimate of 49,032 metric tons (t) for the entire area surveyed, of which less than half (23,329 t) was located within the area used primarily by the commercial fishery, which caught 11,631 t of Pacific cod. Leslie depletion analyses of fishery data yielded biomass estimates of approximately 14,500 t (95% confidence intervals of approximately 9,000–25,000 t), which are within the 95% confidence interval on the fished area survey estimate (12,846–33,812 t). These data indicate that Leslie analyses may be useful in estimating local fish biomass and harvest indices for certain marine fisheries that are well constrained spatially and relatively short in duration (weeks). In addition, fishery effects on prey availability within the time and space scales relevant to foraging sea lions may be much greater than the effects indicated by annual harvest rates estimated from stock assessments averaged across the range of the target spec

Feeding habits of the dwarf weakfish (Cynoscion nannus) off the coasts of Jalisco and Colima, Mexico

Sciaenids from the Pacific coast of Mexico are used as a second-class fish species for human consumption (Aguilar-Palomino et al., 1996). The dwarf weakfish (Cynoscion nannus) (Castro-Aguirre and Arvizu-Martínez, 1976) is often caught as bycatch in the shrimp fishery but, because of its small size (<27 cm TL, total length), it is not considered a valuable resource. This species can be found in great numbers in waters between 100 and 812 m (Allen and Robertson, 1994; Fischer et al., 1995) associated with the soft-bottom regions off the coast of Jalisco and Colima (González-Sansón et al., 1997).

Mapping southern Florida's shallow-water coral ecosystems: an implementation plan

The Southern Florida Shallow-water Coral Ecosystem Mapping Implementation Plan (MIP) discusses the need to produce shallow-water (~0-40 m; 0-22 fm) benthic habitat and bathymetric maps of critical areas in southern Florida and moderate-depth (~40-200 m; 22 -109 fm) bathymetric maps for all of Florida. The ~0-40 m depth regime generally represents where most hermatypic coral species are found and where most direct impacts from pollution and coastal development occur. The plan was developed with extensive input from over 90 representatives of state regulatory and management agencies, federal agencies, universities, and non-governmental organizations involved in the conservation and management of Florida’s coral ecosystems. Southern Florida’s coral ecosystems are extensive. They extend from the Dry Tortugas in the Florida Keys as far north as St Lucie Inlet on the Atlantic Ocean coast and Tarpon Springs on the Gulf of Mexico coast. Using 10 fm (18 m) depth curves on nautical charts as a guide, southern Florida has as much as 84 percent (30,801 sq km) of 36,812 sq km of potential shallow-water (<10 fm; <18 m) coral ecosystems the tropical and subtropical U.S. Moreover, southern Florida’s coral ecosystems contribute greatly to the regional economy. Coral ecosystem-related expenditures generated $4.4 billion in sales, income, and employment and created over 70,000 full-time and part-time jobs in the region during the recent 12-month periods when surveys were conducted.

冲绳海槽北部PC-1岩芯24 cal.kaBP 以来孢粉记录的古环境信息

东海陆架是世界上最宽阔的陆架之一，面积达770 000 km2左右。在末次冰盛期（LGM），东海海平面下降120～130 m左右，绝大部分陆架暴露出海面。而冲绳海槽是第四纪以来一直保持海洋环境的东海深海区。本文以冲绳海槽北部PC-1岩芯为材料，通过分析该孔的孢粉，加上详细的AMS 14C测年，恢复了周边地区24 cal.kaBP以来的古植被，并推测古环境和古气候变化，重点讨论了LGM时期出露大陆架上发育的植被。 PC-1孔（31°27.5′N，128°24.8′E）位于黑潮支流对马暖流东侧，水深590 m，柱长812 cm。孢粉分析按间隔8 cm取样，个别为4~6 cm，共分析了103个孢粉样品。利用9个AMS 14C数据建立年龄标尺，用Calib5.1.0软件进行年龄校正。通过相邻样品深度的线性内插获得每个样品的年龄，采用外延法得到顶部和底部的校正年龄分别为351cal aBP、24 280 cal aBP，孢粉样品的时间分辨率平均为230 a。 根据孢粉百分比和沉积率的变化，可划分出四个带：Ⅰ带（812～715 cm，24.2～21.1 cal. kaBP）、Ⅱ带（715～451 cm，21.1～15.2 cal. kaBP）、Ⅲ带（451～251 cm，15.2～10.8 cal. kaBP）、Ⅳ带（251～0 cm，10.8～0.3 cal. kaBP），分别对应MIS 3末期、末次冰盛期、冰消期和全新世。末次冰盛期草本植物花粉占优势，孢粉沉积率较高，此时草本花粉主要来源于出露的大陆架，其上发育了以蒿属为主的草地植被，气候比较寒冷干燥；冰消期海平面开始回升，松属花粉含量升高，草本植物花粉含量下降；全新世以木本植物花粉占绝对优势，栗属－栲属花粉迅速增加，蕨类孢子含量升高，草本植物花粉含量锐减，孢粉沉积率降低，由于海平面回升，大陆架被淹没，此时孢粉主要来源于日本岛，九州地区生长了以栲属、栎属为主的常绿阔叶与落叶阔叶林，气候温暖湿润。 叶枝杉属花粉在整个岩芯中零星出现。叶枝杉属植物分布于菲律宾吕宋北部至塔斯马尼亚和新西兰气候潮湿的山地林中，该属花粉在岩芯中的出现，可能暗示了黑潮的影响或者是较强的夏季风。 草本植物与松属花粉百分比变化很好的反映了海平面的升降，松属花粉含量较高指示海平面较高。对岩芯中主要类型的花粉百分比进行了频谱分析，显示存在千年尺度的准周期变化，有明显的6.8，3.8，2.2，1.6 ka的周期。 孢粉样品中的炭屑统计表明，末次冰消期炭屑含量最高，可能因为末次冰消期降雨量增加，炭屑可被降水带到沉积地点沉积下来；全新世的炭屑浓度较高，尤其在晚全新世，出现了一个峰值，究其原因可能与气候变化和人类活动有关。