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- Title
Changes in the spatial distribution of spawning activity by north-east Atlantic mackerel in warming seas: 1977-2010.
- Authors
Hughes, Kathryn; Dransfeld, Leonie; Johnson, Mark
- Abstract
Migratory species with a broad geographic range, such as north-east Atlantic mackerel, may be amongst the fauna most able to respond to warming seas, typically with a poleward shift in range. Habitat heterogeneity could, however, produce more complex patterns than a simple polewards translation in distribution. We tested for changes in the central location and spatial spread of mackerel spawning over a 33-year period. Spatial statistics [centre of gravity (CoG) of egg production, spatial variance, and degree of anisotropy] were used to summarise interannual changes in the spawning locations of the western spawning stock of north-east Atlantic mackerel (NEA-WSC) using data from the ICES triennial egg survey. A northwards shift in CoG of egg production estimates was observed, related to both an expansion in the distribution in survey effort and warming waters of the north-east Atlantic. Sea surface temperature (SST) had a significant positive association with the observed northward movement of NEA-WSC mackerel, equivalent to a displacement of 37.7 km °C (based on spring mean SST for the region). The spatial distribution of spawning around the CoG also changed significantly with SST, with a less elongated spatial spread in warm years. An increase in the proportion of spawning over the Porcupine Bank demonstrated how habitat interacts with positional shifts to affect how north-east Atlantic mackerel are distributed around the centre of their spawning range.
- Subjects
SPAWNING; ATLANTIC mackerel; FISH migration; GEOGRAPHICAL distribution of fishes; FISH eggs
- Publication
Marine Biology, 2014, Vol 161, Issue 11, p2563
- ISSN
0025-3162
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s00227-014-2528-1