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1.
    
Five years of field, laboratory, and numerical modelling studies demonstrated ecosystem‐level mechanisms influencing the mortality of juvenile pink salmon and Pacific herring. Both species are prey for other fishes, seabirds, and marine mammals in Prince William Sound. We identified critical time‐space linkages between the juvenile stages of pink salmon and herring rearing in shallow‐water nursery areas and seasonally varying ocean state, the availability of appropriate zooplankton forage, and the kinds and numbers of predators. These relationships defined unique habitat dependencies for juveniles whose survivals were strongly linked to growth rates, energy reserves, and seasonal trophic sheltering from predators. We found that juvenile herring were subject to substantial starvation losses during a winter period of plankton diminishment, and that predation on juvenile pink salmon was closely linked to the availability of alternative prey for fish and bird predators. Our collaborative study further revealed that juvenile pink salmon and age‐0 herring exploit very different portions of the annual production cycle. Juvenile pink salmon targeted the cool‐water, early spring plankton bloom dominated by diatoms and large calanoid copepods, whereas young‐of‐the‐year juvenile herring were dependent on warmer conditions occurring later in the postbloom summer and fall when zooplankton was composed of smaller calanoids and a diversity of other taxa. The synopsis of our studies presented in this volume speaks to contemporary issues facing investigators of fish ecosystems, including juvenile fishes, and offers new insight into problems of bottom‐up and top‐down control. In aggregate, our results point to the importance of seeking mechanistic rather than correlative understandings of complex natural systems.  相似文献   

2.
    
  1. Low trophic‐level forage fish are experiencing global declines, influencing coupled human–ocean systems worldwide. Along the northwest coast of North America, declining trajectories of Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii ) have prompted interest in improving the understanding of its population and community dynamics to better guide future conservation and management strategies.
  2. To improve future population estimates and understanding of the ecological factors governing herring egg survival, the magnitude, spatial variation and mechanisms driving herring egg loss rates were quantified. This was achieved by way of repeated observational field surveys and a predator exclusion experiment.
  3. Observational surveys revealed that regional egg loss rates (Z) were substantial and ranged from 0.101 ± 0.019 to 0.134 ± 0.028, the equivalent of 88–94% egg loss over a 21 day incubation period, or 50–60% egg loss over 6.8 days, the average time lag between spawn deposition and annual egg surveys. Furthermore, spatial variation was high, with egg loss rates varying 5‐fold among study sites. Depth, time since spawn, and spawn area were primary spatial drivers of egg loss, but predator abundance and exposure were secondarily important.
  4. Experimental evidence showed that benthic predation and habitat type were strong drivers of egg loss, suggesting that a high proportion of eggs, particularly those spawned on benthic substrates, are consumed by predators.
  5. These results have important conservation implications for managers and ecologists seeking to estimate herring biomass and to understand the environmental influences on predator–prey interactions that affect herring dynamics.
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3.
    
This study examines the relationships between first year growth of juvenile Prince William Sound herring, temperature and their food. We present time series of herring first year growth, determined from scale measurements as a proxy for herring length, water temperature and indices of multiple trophic levels of plankton obtained from Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) sampling on the adjacent Gulf of Alaska shelf. We show that there was a significant correlation between herring growth and water temperature, when the three warmest years were excluded (the mean July and August temperatures were greater than 12.5°C in 1989, 2004 and 2005). There were also strong, significant relationships between the abundance of appropriately sized (for first‐feeding herring) planktonic prey groups and herring growth. First year herring growth was greater in years with higher abundances of diatoms, microzooplankton and small mesozooplankton but not related to variability in abundance of larger mesozooplankton (such as euphausiids and large copepods). Furthermore, the strong interannual relationship between diatoms and herring growth held true even in the warmest years where the relationship between temperature and growth broke down. We also found seasonal timing and abundance changes in the plankton in warm years that would make the prey more abundant during the summer months immediately after metamorphosis of the herring larvae. We thus conclude that young‐of‐the‐year herring may grow better in warm years because the timing of key prey is a better match for their first feeding.  相似文献   

4.
    
Plankton populations in Prince William Sound, Alaska, exhibited pronounced seasonal, annual and longer‐period variability in composition and standing stock in response to physically influenced differences in nutrient availability, and possibly currents that modify local biomass by exchanges with water from the bordering Gulf of Alaska. During springs in which early, strong physical stratification developed, intense, short‐lived phytoplankton blooms occurred. These blooms had relatively short residence times in the water column. In contrast, during springs in which slower, weaker stratification developed, phytoplankton blooms were prolonged and took longer to peak. These slower blooms prolonged the period of phytoplankton production, prolonged interaction with the springtime grazing community and led to the incorporation of more organic matter into pelagic food webs. A coupled biological‐physical simulation of plankton production was used to examine the implications of seasonally varying air and mixed‐layer temperatures, surface winds and incident light on the timing, duration, annual production and standing stock of plankton. Our modelling results reproduced the observed characteristics of the springtime production cycle, and the magnitude of zooplankton stocks for the period 1992–97 but not for 1981–91. These results suggest that for most of the 1990s, bottom‐up influences on nutrient supplies controlled levels of primary consumers, whereas for the 11 years before that, other unknown factors dominated this process. We present the results of a comprehensive, multiyear study of relationships between plankton and physical limitations, and a retrospective analysis of earlier conditions to explore the possible causes for these differences.  相似文献   

5.
    
Following the 1989 MV Exxon Valdez oil spill (EVOS) and subsequent herring population collapse in Alaska's Prince William Sound (PWS), the Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) fishery was closed. In the 25 yr since EVOS, herring and several herring‐dependent marine bird species have failed to reach pre‐spill population levels. One hypothesis is that intense predation pressure may be inhibiting herring recovery. To inform herring modeling efforts, this study estimated marine bird consumption of juvenile and adult herring in PWS for 10 winters over an 18‐yr period (1989–90 through 2006–2007). Total estimated herring consumption by wintering marine birds averaged 2409 ± 950 t, indicating that avian consumption represents a substantial and inter‐annually variable source of herring mortality. Common murre (Uria aalge) consumed the greatest portion (16–80%) of herring in all years among marine bird species. Juvenile herring biomass consumed annually by common murre was greater than murre consumption of adult herring biomass. Time lag analyses showed that marine bird consumption of adult herring is negatively correlated with the amount of herring spawn observed in subsequent years, but such effects were not observed more than 2 yr. Our models indicate that during years in which herring recruitment is low or bird populations are particularly large, marine birds can consume up to 10% of the annual adult herring biomass. Our results highlight the importance of herring to wintering PWS birds. We propose that future management of herring stocks seeks to reduce negative impacts on marine birds that prey on herring.  相似文献   

6.
    
Predator‐prey interactions can be influenced by the behaviour of individual species as well as environmental factors. We conducted laboratory experiments to test for the influences of two abiotic factors (light intensity and habitat complexity) on predator–prey interactions between walleye Sander vitreus and two prey species, bluegill Lepomis macrochirus and golden shiner Notemigonus crysoleucas. Three light intensities were simulated (day, twilight and night) in the presence or absence of simulated vegetation. Observations of predator behaviour indicated that walleye increased activity and foraging success with decreasing light levels and had most success capturing dispersed, closer prey. While schooling could not be maintained as light levels diminished, prey decreased predation vulnerability by moving into vegetation or higher in the water column. Throughout all treatments, bluegill were more evasive to capture as the number of strikes was similar on both prey but capture rates were higher for golden shiner. Although light intensity and simulated habitat complexity affected predator and prey behaviour, these factors did not interact to influence foraging success of walleye. To fully understand predator and prey behaviours in fishes, an understanding of species‐specific responses to abiotic and biotic factors is necessary.  相似文献   

7.
    
Walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) supports one of the largest commercial fisheries in the world. Juvenile pollock are important forage fish in the eastern Bering Sea (EBS) ecosystem, often representing the largest fraction in the diets of major Bering Sea piscivores. Large variability in the EBS pollock stock biomass in recent years has been attributed primarily to fluctuations in recruitment. It has been hypothesized that predation rates on forage fishes increase when the cold pool (a body of cold water < 2°C) is extensive and covers much of the middle continental shelf, which tends to concentrate larger predatory fishes in the outer shelf and slope regions. In contrast, young pollock appear to tolerate colder temperatures than older fish and can stay in the cold pool, thereby reducing predation. We used a multispecies modeling approach to examine the effects of the cold pool size on predation of juvenile pollock. We found that predation on age‐1 pollock by age‐3+ pollock decreased, and predation on age‐1 and age‐2 pollock by arrowtooth flounder increased with increasing bottom temperature, which was used as a proxy for the cold pool size. These results suggest that the cold pool creates spatial separation between juvenile pollock and arrowtooth flounder, but not between adult and juvenile pollock. The model developed in this study could be used to examine the effects of other covariates on interspecific interactions, help explain observed changes in fish communities, and understand implications of climate change on ecosystems and their productivity.  相似文献   

8.
    
Gizzard shad, Dorosoma cepedianum (Lesueur), often compose a majority of the prey biomass in southern US reservoirs. Previous studies suggest prey limitation frequently occurs in these systems, suggesting that fisheries managers need tools to evaluate the production potential of the populations they manage. Bioenergetics modelling was used to quantify the abundance of age‐0 gizzard shad necessary to sustain multiple piscivore species with diverse growth rates, population sizes, mortality rates and diets. Gizzard shad biomass at the 50th percentile of published values was insufficient to support seven piscivore species in 69% of the simulations, suggesting that above‐average prey biomass is required to support multiple piscivore populations at high abundance and growth rates. To help guide management, estimates of the gizzard shad biomass needed to sustain piscivore communities are provided for management situations in which coarse‐scale (low, medium or high) growth, population size and percent of shad in diet data are available.  相似文献   

9.
    
Much uncertainty exists around how fish communities in shallow lakes will respond to climate change. In this study, we modelled the effects of increased water temperatures on consumption and growth rates of two piscivores (northern pike [Esox lucius] and largemouth bass [Micropterus salmoides]) and examined relative effects of consumption by these predators on two prey species (bluegill [Lepomis macrochirus] and yellow perch [Perca flavescens]). Bioenergetics models were used to simulate the effects of climate change on growth and food consumption using predicted 2040 and 2060 temperatures in a shallow Nebraska Sandhill lake, USA. The patterns and magnitude of daily and cumulative consumption during the growing season (April–October) were generally similar between the two predators. However, growth of northern pike was always reduced (?3 to ?45% change) compared to largemouth bass that experienced subtle changes (4 to ?6% change) in weight by the end of the growing season. Assuming similar population size structure and numbers of predators in 2040–2060, future consumption of bluegill and yellow perch by northern pike and largemouth bass will likely increase (range: 3–24%), necessitating greater prey biomass to meet future energy demands. The timing of increased predator consumption will likely shift towards spring and fall (compared to summer), when prey species may not be available in the quantities required. Our findings suggest that increased water temperatures may affect species at the edge of their native range (i.e. northern pike) and a potential mismatch between predator and prey could exist.  相似文献   

10.
Fine ML, Mayo MS, Newton SH, Sismour EN. Largemouth bass predators reduce growth, feeding and movement in juvenile channel catfish. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 2011: 20: 114–119. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S Abstract – Animals utilise sensory cues to make decisions that will decrease their vulnerability to predation. With a well‐developed olfactory system and taste buds located inside the mouth and on the external body surface, catfishes are excellent subjects to investigate nonconsumptive predator effects. Juvenile channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus are often eaten by largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides, and we tested the hypothesis that largemouth bass fed catfish would adversely affect foraging and growth in channel catfish. Groups of catfish were placed in tanks partitioned by a mesh screen: experimental tanks had a largemouth bass on the other half of the tank, and control tanks had an empty chamber. Experimental catfish exhibited a long‐term decrease in spontaneous motion, feeding and growth. Feeding catfish to the bass caused the experimental catfish to freeze after a multi‐second latency suggesting transport of an alarm cue. Thus, there were long‐term effects from the continuous presence of the bass and additional short‐term cues from the bass consuming a catfish.  相似文献   

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