Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T02:04:21.688Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Physical–biological interactions influencing large toothfish over the Ross Sea shelf

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 September 2017

Julian Ashford*
Affiliation:
Center for Quantitative Fisheries Ecology, Old Dominion University, 800 West 46th St, Norfolk, VA 23508, USA
Michael Dinniman
Affiliation:
Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography, Old Dominion University, 411 Monarch Way, Norfolk, VA 23508, USA
Cassandra Brooks
Affiliation:
Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94305, USA

Abstract

We add comments to a recent series of publications in peer-reviewed journals concerning the distribution of large Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) found over the inner shelf of the Ross Sea. We note that earlier fish ecologists advanced innovative hypotheses invoking physical–biological interactions with life history, and that these, far from being disproved, have been relegated by more immediately pressing management concerns. We argue that, despite the considerable advances achieved by research groups working on D. mawsoni, an understanding of distribution and abundance is incomplete without reference to the physical structure that supports their life history. We briefly consider hypotheses highlighted by the recent literature in the context of major features of the shelf circulation in the Ross Sea, in particular intrusions of modified Circumpolar Deep Water along trough systems. We suggest physical–biological interactions that may be involved and call for improvements in the monitoring programme that can help test between the competing hypotheses.

Type
Opinion Paper
Copyright
© Antarctic Science Ltd 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agostini, C., Patarnello, T., Ashford, J.R., Torres, J.J., Zane, L. & Papetti, C. 2015. Genetic differentiation in the ice-dependent fish Pleuragramma antarctica along the Antarctic Peninsula. Journal of Biogeography, 10.1111/jbi.12497.Google Scholar
Ainley, D.G., Eastman, J.T. & Brooks, C.M. 2016. Comments on “The Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni): biology, ecology, and life history in the Ross Sea region,” by S. Hanchet et al. Hydrobiologia, 10.1007/s10750-015-2607-4.Google Scholar
Ainley, D.G., Ballard, G., Eastman, J.T., Evans, C.W., Nur, N. & Parkinson, C.L. 2017. Changed prevalence, not absence, explains toothfish status in McMurdo Sound. Antarctic Science, 10.1017/S0954102016000584.Google Scholar
Ainley, D.G., Nur, N., Eastman, J.T., Ballard, G., Parkinson, C.L., Evans, C.W. & DeVries, A.L. 2013. Decadal trends in abundance, size and condition of Antarctic toothfish in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, 1972–2011. Fish and Fisheries, 14, 343363.Google Scholar
Ashford, J.R., Arkhipkin, A.I. & Jones, C.M. 2006. Can the chemistry of otolith nuclei determine population structure of Patagonian toothfish Dissostichus eleginoides? Journal of Fish Biology, 69, 708721.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ashford, J.R., Jones, C.M. & Fegley, L. 2013. Within-day variability in catch taken by public access fishers during a recreational fishing survey. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, 142, 974978.Google Scholar
Ashford, J.R., Zane, L., Torres, J.R., La Mesa, M. & Simms, A.R. 2017. Population structure and life history connectivity of Antarctic silverfish (Pleuragramma antarctica) in the Southern Ocean ecosystem. In Vacchi, M., Pisano, E. & Ghigliotti, L., eds. The Antarctic silverfish: a keystone species in a changing ecosystem. Basel: Springer, 193234.Google Scholar
Ashford, J.R., Jones, C.M., Hofmann, E.E., Everson, I., Moreno, C.A., Duhamel, G. & Williams, R. 2008. Otolith chemistry indicates population structuring by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 65, 135146.Google Scholar
Ashford, J.R., Dinniman, M., Brooks, C., Andrews, A.H., Hofmann, E., Cailliet, G., Jones, C. & Ramanna, N. 2012. Does large-scale ocean circulation structure life history connectivity in Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni)? Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 69, 19031919.Google Scholar
Brooks, C.M., Andrews, A.H., Ashford, J.R., Ramanna, N., Jones, C.D., Lundstrom, C. & Cailliet, G.M. 2011. Age estimation and lead-radium dating of Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni). Polar Biology, 34, 329338.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dinniman, M.S., Klinck, J.M. & Smith, W.O. 2003. Cross-shelf exchange in a model of the Ross Sea circulation and biogeochemistry. Deep-Sea Research II - Topical Studies in Oceanography, 50, 31033120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dinniman, M.S., Klinck, J.M. & Smith, W.O. 2007. Influence of sea ice cover and icebergs on circulation and water mass formation in a numerical circulation model of the Ross Sea, Antarctica. Journal of Geophysical Research - Oceans, 10.1029/2006JC004036.Google Scholar
Fach, B.A. & Klinck, J.M. 2006. Transport of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) across the Scotia Sea. Part I: Circulation and particle tracking simulations. Deep-Sea Research I - Oceanographic Research Papers, 53, 9871010.Google Scholar
Ferguson, J.W. 2012. Population structure and connectivity of an important pelagic forage fish in the Antarctic ecosystem, Pleuragramma antarcticum, in relation to large scale circulation. MSc thesis, Old Dominion University, 132 pp. [Unpublished].Google Scholar
Hanchet, S.M., Rickard, G.J., Fenaughty, J.M., Dunn, A. & Williams, M.J.H. 2008. A hypothetical life cycle for Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) in the Ross Sea region. CCAMLR Science, 15, 3554.Google Scholar
Hanchet, S., Dunn, A., Parker, S., Horn, P., Stevens, D. & Mormede, S. 2015. The Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni): biology, ecology, and life history in the Ross Sea region. Hydrobiologia, 10.1007/s10750-015-2435-6.Google Scholar
Hanchet, S., Dunn, A., Parker, S., Horn, P., Stevens, D. & Mormede, S. 2016. Response to the opinion paper by Ainley et al. Hydrobiologia, 10.1007/s10750-015-2607-4.Google Scholar
Hofmann, E.E., Klinck, J.M., Locarnini, R.A., Fach, B. & Murphy, E. 1998. Krill transport in the Scotia Sea and environs. Antarctic Science, 10, 406415.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hubold, G. 1984. Spatial distribution of Pleuragramma antarctica (Pisces: Nototheniidae) near the Filchner and Larsen ice shelves (Weddell Sea, Antarctica). Polar Biology, 3, 231236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jacobs, S.S. & Giulivi, C.F. 2010. Large multidecadal salinity trends near the Pacific–Antarctic continental margin. Journal of Climate, 23, 45084524.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jacobs, S.S., Amos, A.F. & Bruchhausen, P.M. 1970. Ross Sea oceanography and Antarctic Bottom Water formation. Deep Sea Research and Oceanographic Abstracts, 17, 935962.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jacobs, S.S., Giulivi, C.F. & Mele, P.A. 2002. Freshening of the Ross Sea during the late 20th century. Science, 297, 386389.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kellermann, A. 1986. Geographical distribution and abundance of postlarval and juvenile Pleuragramma antarctica (Pisces, Notothenioidei) off the Antarctic Peninsula. Polar Biology, 6, 111119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kohut, J., Hunter, E. & Huber, B. 2013. Small-scale variability of the cross-shelf flow over the outer shelf of the Ross Sea. Journal of Geophysical Research - Oceans, 118, 18631876.Google Scholar
La Mesa, M. & Eastman, J.T. 2012. Antarctic silverfish: life strategies of a key species in the high-Antarctic ecosystem. Fish and Fisheries, 13, 241266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
La Mesa, M., Piñones, A., Catalano, B. & Ashford, J. 2015. Predicting early life connectivity of Antarctic silverfish, an important forage species along the Antarctic Peninsula. Fisheries Oceanography, 10.1111/fog.12096.Google Scholar
La Mesa, M., Riginella, E., Mazzoldi, C. & Ashford, J. 2014. Reproductive resilience of ice-dependant Antarctic silverfish in a rapidly changing system along the western Antarctic Peninsula. Marine Ecology, 10.1111/maec.12140.Google Scholar
La Mesa, M., Catalano, B., Russo, A., Greco, S., Vacchi, M. & Azzali, M. 2010. Influence of environmental conditions on spatial distribution and abundance of early life stages of Antarctic silverfish, Pleuragramma antarcticum (Nototheniidae), in the Ross Sea. Antarctic Science, 22, 243254.Google Scholar
Loeb, V.J., Kellermann, A.K., Koubbi, P., North, A.W. & White, M.G. 1993. Antarctic larval fish assemblages: a review. Bulletin of Marine Science, 53, 416449.Google Scholar
MacAyeal, D.R., Okal, M.H., Thom, J.E., Brunt, K.M., Kim, Y.-J. & Bliss, A.K. 2008. Tabular iceberg collisions within the coastal regime. Journal of Glaciology, 54, 371386.Google Scholar
McGillicuddy, D.J., Sedwick, P.N., Dinniman, M.S., Arrigo, K.R., Bibby, T.S., Greenan, B.J.W., Hofmann, E.E., Klinck, J.M., Smith, W.O., Mack, S.L., Marsay, C.M., Sohst, B.M. & van Dijken, G.L. 2015. Iron supply and demand in an Antarctic shelf ecosystem. Geophysical Research Letters, 42, 80888097.Google Scholar
Near, T.J., Russo, S.E., Jones, C.D. & DeVries, A.L. 2003. Ontogenetic shift in buoyancy and habitat in the Antarctic toothfish, Dissostichus mawsoni (Perciformes: Nototheniidae). Polar Biology, 26, 124128.Google Scholar
Orsi, A.H. & Wiederwohl, C.L. 2009. A recount of Ross Sea waters. Deep-Sea Research II - Topical Studies in Oceanography, 56, 778795.Google Scholar
Parker, M.L., Fraser, W.F., Ashford, J., Patarnello, T., Zane, L. & Torres, J.J. 2015. Assemblages of micronektonic fishes and invertebrates in a gradient of regional warming along the western Antarctic Peninsula. Journal of Marine Systems, 10.1016/j.jmarsys.2015.07.005.Google Scholar
Parker, S.J., Mormede, S., DeVries, A.L., Hanchet, S.M. & Eisert, E. 2016. Have Antarctic fish returned to McMurdo Sound? Antarctic Science, 28, 2934.Google Scholar
Piñones, A., Hofmann, E.E., Dinniman, M.S. & Klinck, J.M. 2011. Lagrangian simulation of transport pathways and residence times along the western Antarctic Peninsula. Deep-Sea Research II - Topical Studies In Oceanography, 58, 15241539.Google Scholar
Purkey, S.G. & Johnson, G.C. 2013. Antarctic Bottom Water warming and freshening: contributions to sea level rise, ocean freshwater budgets, and global heat gain. Journal of Climate, 26, 61056122.Google Scholar
Renner, A.H.H., Thorpe, S.E., Heywood, K.J., Murphy, E.J., Watkins, J.L. & Meredith, M.P. 2012. Advective pathways near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula: trends, variability and ecosystem implications. Deep-Sea Research I - Oceanographic Research Papers, 63, 91101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, N.J. & Williams, M.J.M. 2012. Iceberg-induced changes to polynya operation and regional oceanography in the southern Ross Sea, Antarctic, from in situ observations. Antarctic Science, 24, 514526.Google Scholar
Shaw, P.W., Arkhipkin, A.I. & Al-Khairulla, H. 2004. Genetic structuring of Patagonian toothfish populations in the southwest Atlantic Ocean: the effect of the Antarctic Polar Front and deep-water troughs as barriers to genetic exchange. Molecular Ecology, 13, 32933303.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stewart, A.L. & Thompson, A.F. 2015. Eddy-mediated transport of warm Circumpolar Deep Water across the Antarctic shelf break. Geophysical Research Letters, 10.1002/2014GL062281.Google Scholar
Swift, J.H. & Orsi, A.H. 2012. Sixty-four days of hydrography and storms: RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer’s 2011 SO4P Cruise. Oceanography, 25, 5455.Google Scholar
Thompson, S.K. 1992. Sampling. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, 343 pp.Google Scholar
Wang, Q., Danilov, S., Hellmer, H., Sidorenko, D., Schröter, J. & Jung, T. 2013. Enhanced cross-shelf exchange by tides in the western Ross Sea. Geophysical Research Letters, 40, 57355739.Google Scholar
White, M.G. 1998. Development, dispersal and recruitment: a paradox for survival among Antarctic fish. In di Prisco, G., Pisano, E. & Clarke, A., eds. Fishes of Antarctica. A biological overview. Milan: Springer, 5362.Google Scholar
Zane, L., Marcato, S., Bargelloni, L., Bortolotto, E., Papetti, C., Simonato, M., Varotto, V. & Patarnello, T. 2006. Demographic history and population structure of the Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarcticum . Molecular Ecology, 15, 44994511.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed