Predicting the Long-Distance Dispersal of Ichthyoplankton in the Intra-Americas Sea: A Data-Assimilative Decision Support Tool for Effective Living Marine Resource Management
Aaron Adams, Bonefish & Tarpon Trust, aaron@bonefishtarpontrust.org (Presenter)
Jennifer Warrillow, Fathom Science, jwarrillow@fathomscience.com
Taylor Shropshire, Fathom Science, tshropshire@fathomscience.com
The spatial scale of marine fisheries management frequently does not match the scale of the biology of the species being managed. For example, species cross jurisdictional boundaries via larval transport and migration. This disconnect poses challenges to effective fisheries management. Of particular concern is larval transport, since connectivity via larval transport is difficult to estimate. On the broad scale, for example, the economically and culturally valuable recreational fishery for Atlantic tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and southeastern US coast, is managed exclusively as a local fishery within national and state jurisdictions. However, genetics research shows there is a single, regional, genetic population, thus larval transport connects jurisdictions. Improving understanding of connectivity between populations, indeed between spawning locations and larval settlement/juvenile habitats, is essential for effective management.
We offer a new web-based, interactive larval tracking system designed for resource managers that estimates larval transport pathways from spawning to settlement, providing an easy and cost-effective way to evaluate connectivity. The tool incorporates information on ocean currents, spawning location, spawning depth, spawning date, estimated vertical larval distribution, and larval settlement regions to estimate connectivity pathways, and thus enable prioritization of management strategies at appropriate scales. For example, managers can prioritize spawning and recruitment habitats for protection. In development by Fathom Science, this tool is the first of its kind for users to input known biological information for focal species, and download larval dispersal information.
Here, we demonstrate how this tool is used to investigate larval dispersal of tarpon in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. We then expand on how the results can be used for guiding current management decisions of tarpon, bonefish, and permit populations that support the economically important flats fishery in the region. Once fully developed, the tool will be applicable to any species of management interest in the region.
Poster: Poster_Adams_1-51_47_35.pdf
Associated Project(s):
Poster Location ID: 1-51
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: Poster Session 1
Session Date: Tue (May 9) 5:00-7:00 PM
CCE Program: BDEC