Kenneth T. Frank

Marine ecology: Spring algal bloom and larval fish survival

The different factors that influence the prevalent decline in fish stocks are currently subject to urgent and intense scrutiny. Here we combine the use of remote-sensing satellite data with a long-term data set of haddock recruitment off the eastern continental shelf of Nova Scotia, Canada, to show that the survival of the larval fish depends on the timing of the local spring bloom of phytoplankton. This link has been suspected for more than 100 years, but its verification has had to wait for technology with sufficient spatial and temporal resolution.

Transient dynamics of an altered large marine ecosystem

Overfishing of large-bodied benthic fishes and their subsequent population collapses on the Scotian Shelf of Canada’s east coast and elsewhere resulted in restructuring of entire food webs now dominated by planktivorous, forage fish species and macroinvertebrates. Despite the imposition of strict management measures in force since the early 1990s, the Scotian Shelf ecosystem has not reverted back to its former structure. Here we provide evidence of the transient nature of this ecosystem and its current return path towards benthic fish species domination. The prolonged duration of the altered food web, and its current recovery, was and is being governed by the oscillatory, runaway consumption dynamics of the forage fish complex. These erupting forage species, which reached biomass levels 900% greater than those prevalent during the pre-collapse years of large benthic predators, are now in decline, having outstripped their zooplankton food supply. This dampening, and the associated reduction in the intensity of predation, was accompanied by lagged increases in species abundances at both lower and higher trophic levels, first witnessed in zooplankton and then in large-bodied predators, all consistent with a return towards the earlier ecosystem structure. We conclude that the reversibility of perturbed ecosystems can occur and that this bodes well for other collapsed fisheries.

Decline in top predator body size and changing climate alter trophic structure in an oceanic ecosystem

Globally, overfishing large-bodied groundfish populations has resulted in substantial increases in their prey populations. Where it has been examined, the effects of overfishing have cascaded down the food chain. In an intensively fished area on the western Scotian Shelf, Northwest Atlantic, the biomass of prey species increased exponentially (doubling time of 11 years) even though the aggregate biomass of their predators remained stable over 38 years. Concomitant reductions in herbivorous zooplankton and increases in phytoplankton were also evident. This anomalous trophic pattern led us to examine how declines in predator body size (approx. 60% in body mass since the early 1970s) and climatic regime influenced lower trophic levels. The increase in prey biomass was associated primarily with declines in predator body size and secondarily to an increase in stratification. Sea surface temperature and predator biomass had no influence. A regression model explained 65 per cent of prey biomass variability. Trait-mediated effects, namely a reduction in predator size, resulted in a weakening of top predation pressure. Increased stratification may have enhanced growing conditions for prey fish. Size-selective harvesting under changing climatic conditions initiated a trophic restructuring of the food chain, the effects of which may have influenced three trophic levels.

Contemporary management issues confronting fisheries science

Abstract Stock collapses have occurred worldwide. The most frequently cited cause is over-fishing, suggesting that fisheries management has been ineffective in controlling exploitation rates. The progression of a fishery from an over-exploited to a collapsed state involves impairment of the reproductive capacity of the target species, i.e. recruitment over-fishing. In many cases, this occurs by reduction of the spawning stock biomass (SSB) through the systematic elimination of spawning components within a stock complex. While operational definitions of minimum levels of SSB have been developed, they have seldom been applied and never adopted in a Canadian groundfish management context. The answer to the question of how much is enough to perpetuate a stock under exploitation has been illusive. Serebryakov [J. Cons. Int. Explor. Mer, 47 (1990) 267] has advocated definition of critical levels of SSB based on survival rates (R/SSB). We review his method and discuss the utility of the approach. An alternative approach to the problem of estimating minimum SSB is through a fundamental revision of the traditional stock and recruitment relationship. Explicit theoretical SSB thresholds below which reproduction/recruitment is severely impaired based upon density-dependent mating success (or Allee effects) is considered a superior approach to the question of how much is enough because of its ecological grounding. However, the successful application of this approach will require re-definition of the space/time scales of the management unit. Finally, support is growing for the establishment of closed areas or “no-take zones” as an alternative approach to managing the problems of fishing a stock complex by enabling sub-populations to escape fishing. While the expected benefits of areas protected from fishing are numerous, clear demonstrations of benefits of such areas in marine temperate ecosystems are lacking. In fact, unintended negative consequences may result from such actions.

Predicted Response of Northwest Atlantic Invertebrate and Fish Stocks to CO2-Induced Climate Change

Abstract We discuss the effect of changes in oceanographic conditions induced by a global increase in atmospheric CO2 on the location, composition, and recruitment of invertebrate and finfish populations inhabiting the region from the Gulf of Maine to the Labrador Shelf. Published studies exist for the region that link historical climate fluctuations with fish distributions or that use physical data as proxy variables for nutrient flux, advection, and stratification to predict species recruitment patterns and stock size differences. We used these models in conjunction with a physical oceanographic scenario resulting from a doubling of atmospheric CO2 to speculate on the most probable consequences to the fisheries of Atlantic Canada. For example, a general warming and freshening of the continental shelf waters is anticipated. We expect this to lead to shifts in the geographic distribution of several commercially important groundfish stocks, especially those that are presently at the extreme limits of their...

Breaking Bergmann's rule: truncation of Northwest Atlantic marine fish body sizes

A strictly species-centric view of human impacts on ecological communities may conceal important trait changes key to ecosystem functioning and stability. Analyses of body size and community composition data for 326 Northwest Atlantic fish species sampled across > 900000 km2 over three decades revealed a rapid and widespread reduction of body sizes driven by declines within species and changes in relative abundances. The changes were unrelated to species richness but of sufficient magnitude to eliminate biogeographic scale gradients of increasing body size with latitude commonly characterized as Bergmanns rule. These changes have persisted despite reduced potential for intraspecific competition and favorable bottom water temperatures, both of which should lead to increased growth rates. The aggregate body sizes in these Northwest Atlantic fish communities may now represent a mismatch between the environmental variability characteristic of the Northwest Atlantic and the historical body size, life history traits, and productivity of species across this region. We discuss how these changes may jeopardize the potential for recovery of these important temperate/subarctic ecosystems.

Temporal dynamics within a contemporary latitudinal diversity gradient

Poleward declines in species diversity [latitudinal diversity gradients (LDG)] remain among the oldest and most widespread of macroecological patterns. However, their contemporary dynamics remain largely unexplored even though changing ecological conditions, including global change, may modify LDG and their respective ecosystems. Here, we examine temporal variation within a temperate Northwest Atlantic LDG using 31 years of annual fisheries-independent surveys and explore its dynamics in relation to a dominant climate signal [the wintertime North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)] that varies interannually and alters the latitudinal gradient of Northwest Atlantic continental shelf bottom water temperatures. We found that the slopes of the annual LDG vary dramatically due to changes in geographic distributions of 100+ species, variations that are concealed within the cumulative, static LDG. These changes are strongly associated with changes in NAO sign and strength. This is the first illustration of temporal dynamics in a contemporary LDG and the first demonstration of the speed at which local environmental variations can alter an LDG. Our findings underscore the need to investigate factors that modify LDG separately from those that contribute to their origins.

RANGE CONTRACTION MAY NOT ALWAYS PREDICT CORE AREAS: AN EXAMPLE FROM MARINE FISH

Our goal was to identify the core areas of six severely depleted marine fish species on the Scotian Shelf, Canada, using the theory of ideal free distribution (IFD). We tested for density-dependent distribution on both regional and local scales. At the regional scale, a density-dependent response was observed in the majority of populations. At the local scale, density was expected to remain stable in areas of high density and to change more rapidly in marginal areas, in response to changes in regional abundance. Lower local density responses were associated with areas of higher density, but deviations were evident, in part due to the magnitude of decline and in part due to fishing effects. Former areas of high density can be eroded if the population has severely declined. Fishing directed at an area of high density can cause local depletion when recolonization rates are low relative to the intensity of fishing. Thus, areas occupied during periods of low regional abundance do not of necessity reflect the historical array of core areas. We do not recommend the use of IFD theory to identify core areas of heavily exploited species. Instead, we recommend a precautionary approach that assumes the existence of low-mixing populations that can be differentially affected by fishing. For species at risk, only data derived before significant population declines should be used to identify high-density areas. Such areas would rep- resent those with the potential to support higher densities as well as the historical array of subpopulations. Our study provides insight into the practical aspects of analyzing exploited species using ecological theory.

Effects of Hibernia crude oil on Capelin (Mallotus villosus) embryos and larvae

Capelin (Mallotus villosus) embryos and larvae were exposed to the water-soluble fraction (WSF) of Hibernia crude oil in four different experiments. The WSF consisted primarily of aromatic compounds, whereas the parent oil consisted primarily of aliphatic compunds. Hydrocarbon concentrations, as measured by ultraviolet spectrophotometry, decreased in test beakers over time. Therefore, exposures were expressed as toxicity indexes (concentration x time) to account for differences in exposure conditions between experiments. Lethal effects on embryos were observed only at high concentrations over long exposures (27–37 mg/litre x days). Lethal effects on larvae were observed at lower concentrations and/or shorter exposures (1·3–7·1 mg/litre x days), indicating that larvae were more sensitive. Sublethal effects on growth, pigmentation, developmental rate, time to hatch, and vertical position of embryos or larvae were observed at concentrations < 10–50% of lethal concentrations. Concentrations causing lethal effects on embryos are unlikely to occur or persist, except after spills or other accidents near spawning beaches. Concentrations causing lethal effects on larvae or sublethal effects on embryos or larvae are much more likely to occur and persist through the developmental period, and should be the major concern where potential conflicts exist between offshore oil developments and the inshore capelin fishers.

Spatial patterns and predictors of trophic control in marine ecosystems

A key question in ecology is under which conditions ecosystem structure tends to be controlled by resource availability vs. consumer pressure. Several hypotheses derived from theory, experiments and observational field studies have been advanced, yet a unified explanation remains elusive. Here, we identify common predictors of trophic control in a synthetic analysis of 52 observational field studies conducted within marine ecosystems across the Northern Hemisphere and published between 1951 and 2014. Spatial regression analysis of 45 candidate variables revealed temperature to be the dominant predictor, with unimodal effects on trophic control operating both directly (r(2) = 0.32; P < 0.0001) and indirectly through influences on turnover rate and quality of primary production, biodiversity and omnivory. These findings indicate that temperature is an overarching determinant of the trophic dynamics of marine ecosystems, and that variation in ocean temperature will affect the trophic structure of marine ecosystems through both direct and indirect mechanisms.