Trophic ecology of albacore tuna (Thunnus alalunga) in the western tropical Indian Ocean and adjacent waters

2020 ◽  
Vol 71 (11) ◽  
pp. 1517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evgeny V. Romanov ◽  
Natacha Nikolic ◽  
Zahirah Dhurmeea ◽  
Nathalie Bodin ◽  
Alexis Puech ◽  
...  

In this study we investigated the trophic ecology of albacore tuna in the western Indian Ocean and adjacent Atlantic waters based on stomach content analysis using a reconstituted length and weight of prey approach. From 686 non-empty stomachs collected between 2001 and 2015 across three biogeographic provinces, we describe the diet composition of albacore tuna, analyse its feeding habits and investigate the structure and diversity of mid-trophic-level communities. Epipelagic fish were found to be the principal prey by number and reconstituted weight; cephalopods were the second important prey group. Small organisms prevailed in the diet of albacore tuna, with predation on juvenile fish commonplace. Albacore tuna exhibits a flexible, opportunistic feeding strategy, from ram filter feeding on abundant schooling prey to visual predation on large individuals. Prey species richness varied highly across the region. Oligotrophic conditions within the subtropical gyre of the Indian Ocean generated the most diverse mid-trophic-level communities, with less diverse communities occurring in productive areas. Albacore tuna occupies a similar trophic niche throughout the global ocean, foraging on the same prey families and even species. This study indicates overall temporal stability of the Indian Ocean and south-east Atlantic ecosystems where principal prey species remain unchanged over decades.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirjam van der Mheen ◽  
Erik van Sebille ◽  
Charitha Pattiaratchi

Abstract. A large percentage of global ocean plastic waste enters the northern hemisphere Indian Ocean (NIO). Despite this, it is unclear what happens to buoyant plastics in the NIO. Because the subtropics in the NIO is blocked by landmass, there is no subtropical gyre and no associated subtropical garbage patch in this region. We therefore hypothesise that plastics "beach" and end up on coastlines along the Indian Ocean rim. In this paper, we determine the influence of beaching plastics by applying different beaching conditions to Lagrangian particle tracking simulation results. Our results show that a large amount of plastic likely ends up on coastlines in the NIO, while some crosses the equator into the southern hemisphere Indian Ocean (SIO). In the NIO, the transport of plastics is dominated by seasonally reversing monsoonal currents, which transport plastics back and forth between the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. All buoyant plastic material in this region beaches within a few years in our simulations. Countries bordering the Bay of Bengal are particularly heavily affected by plastics beaching on coastlines. This is a result of both the large sources of plastic waste in the region, as well as ocean dynamics which concentrate plastics in the Bay of Bengal. During the intermonsoon period following the southwest monsoon season (September, October, November), plastics can cross the equator on the eastern side of the NIO basin into the SIO. Plastics that escape from the NIO into the SIO beach on eastern African coastlines and islands in the SIO or enter the subtropical SIO garbage patch.


2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (13) ◽  
pp. 3106-3130 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Murray ◽  
Nathaniel L. Bindoff ◽  
C. J. C. Reason

Abstract A near-global ocean model with resolution enhanced in the southern Indian Ocean has been spun up to seasonal equilibrium and then driven by NCEP–NCAR reanalysis 1 monthly mean forcings and Hadley SSTs over the period 1948–2002. The aim was to simulate changes in the subsurface properties observed in hydrographic surveys at 32°S in the Indian Ocean in 1965, 1987, and 2002. These surveys showed a zonally averaged cooling on isopycnals of 0.5° and 0.3°C in mode and intermediate waters between 1965 and 1987 and a warming of the mode water coupled with a continued cooling of the intermediate water between 1987 and 2002. The major changes in isopycnal depth and temperature modeled in this study were confined to the mode water and were qualitatively similar to those observed but concentrated in a lower density class and in the eastern half of the section. The dominant changes here were multidecadal, with maximum temperatures on the σθ = 26.7 kg m−3 isopycnal being reached in 1968 and minimum temperatures in 1990. The simulations showed a propagation of interannual anomalies toward the section from a region of deep late winter mixed layers in the southeast Indian Ocean within a period of several years. Surface temperatures in this region were lowest in the 1960s and highest in the late 1980s. Temperatures on isopycnals showed the opposite variation, consistent with SST having the controlling effect on mixed layer density and depth. Isopycnal depths within the mode water were strongly correlated with temperature, implying a redistribution of mode water density classes, the greatest volume of mode water being produced in a higher density class (σθ = 26.8–27.0 kg m–3) during the period of cooler surface forcing in the 1960s and 1970s than during the warmer period following (σθ = 26.6–26.8 kg m–3).


2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (7) ◽  
pp. 1206-1222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yann Friocourt ◽  
Sybren Drijfhout ◽  
Bruno Blanke ◽  
Sabrina Speich

Abstract The northward export of intermediate water from Drake Passage is investigated in two global ocean general circulation models (GCMs) by means of quantitative particle tracing diagnostics. This study shows that a total of about 23 Sv (Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1) is exported from Drake Passage to the equator. The Atlantic and Pacific Oceans are the main catchment basins with 7 and 15 Sv, respectively. Only 1–2 Sv of the water exported to the Atlantic equator follow the direct cold route from Drake Passage without entering the Indian Ocean. The remainder loops first into the Indian Ocean subtropical gyre and flows eventually into the Atlantic Ocean by Agulhas leakage. The authors assess the robustness of a theory that relates the export from Drake Passage to the equator to the wind stress over the Southern Ocean. Our GCM results are in reasonable agreement with the theory that predicts the total export. However, the theory cannot be applied to individual basins because of interocean exchanges through the “supergyre” mechanism and other nonlinear processes such as the Agulhas rings. The export of water from Drake Passage starts mainly as an Ekman flow just northward of the latitude band of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current south of South America. Waters quickly subduct and are transferred to the ocean interior as they travel equatorward. They flow along the eastern boundaries in the Sverdrup interior and cross the southern basins northwestward to reach the equator within the western boundary current systems.


2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (13) ◽  
pp. 2937-2960 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bohua Huang ◽  
J. Shukla

Abstract To understand the mechanisms of the interannual variability in the tropical Indian Ocean, two long-term simulations are conducted using a coupled ocean–atmosphere GCM—one with active air–sea coupling over the global ocean and the other with regional coupling restricted within the Indian Ocean to the north of 30°S while the climatological monthly sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are prescribed in the uncoupled oceans to drive the atmospheric circulation. The major spatial patterns of the observed upper-ocean heat content and SST anomalies can be reproduced realistically by both simulations, suggesting that they are determined by intrinsic coupled processes within the Indian Ocean. In both simulations, the interannual variability in the Indian Ocean is dominated by a tropical mode and a subtropical mode. The tropical mode is characterized by a coupled feedback among thermocline depth, zonal SST gradient, and wind anomalies over the equatorial and southern tropical Indian Ocean, which is strongest in boreal fall and winter. The tropical mode simulated by the global coupled model reproduces the main observational features, including a seasonal connection to the model El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The ENSO influence, however, is weaker than that in a set of ensemble simulations described in Part I of this study, where the observed SST anomalies for 1950–98 are prescribed outside the Indian Ocean. Combining with the results from Part I of this study, it is concluded that ENSO can modulate the temporal variability of the tropical mode through atmospheric teleconnection. Its influence depends on the ENSO strength and duration. The stronger and more persistent El Niño events in the observations extend the life span of the anomalous events in the tropical Indian Ocean significantly. In the regional coupled simulation, the tropical mode is still active, but its dominant period is shifted away from that of ENSO. In the absence of ENSO forcing, the tropical mode is mainly stimulated by an anomalous atmospheric direct thermal cell forced by the fluctuations of the northwestern Pacific monsoon. The subtropical mode is characterized by an east–west dipole pattern of the SST anomalies in the southern subtropical Indian Ocean, which is strongest in austral fall. The SST anomalies are initially forced by surface heat flux anomalies caused by the anomalous southeast trade wind in the subtropical ocean during austral summer. The trade wind anomalies are in turn associated with extratropical variations from the southern annular mode. A thermodynamic air–sea feedback strengthens these subtropical anomalies quickly in austral fall and extends their remnants into the tropical ocean in austral winter. In the simulations, this subtropical variability is independent of ENSO.


2005 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. n/a-n/a ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy S. Grumet ◽  
Philip B. Duffy ◽  
Michael E. Wickett ◽  
Ken Caldeira ◽  
Robert B. Dunbar

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 701-719 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher L. Wolfe ◽  
Paola Cessi ◽  
Bruce D. Cornuelle

AbstractAn intrinsic mode of self-sustained, interannual variability is identified in a coarse-resolution ocean model forced by an annually repeating atmospheric state. The variability has maximum loading in the Indian Ocean, with a significant projection into the South Atlantic Ocean. It is argued that this intrinsic mode is caused by baroclinic instability of the model’s Leeuwin Current, which radiates out to the tropical Indian and South Atlantic Oceans as long Rossby waves at a period of 4 yr. This previously undescribed mode has a remarkably narrowband time series. However, the variability is not synchronized with the annual cycle; the phase of the oscillation varies chaotically on decadal time scales. The presence of this internal mode reduces the predictability of the ocean circulation by obscuring the response to forcing or initial condition perturbations. The signature of this mode can be seen in higher-resolution global ocean models driven by high-frequency atmospheric forcing, but altimeter and assimilation analyses do not show obvious signatures of such a mode, perhaps because of insufficient duration.


2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (17) ◽  
pp. 6085-6108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshiaki Shinoda ◽  
Weiqing Han ◽  
Tommy G. Jensen ◽  
Luis Zamudio ◽  
E. Joseph Metzger ◽  
...  

Abstract Previous studies indicate that equatorial zonal winds in the Indian Ocean can significantly influence the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF). During the Cooperative Indian Ocean Experiment on Intraseasonal Variability (CINDY)/Dynamics of the Madden–Julian Oscillation (DYNAMO) field campaign, two strong MJO events were observed within a month without a clear suppressed phase between them, and these events generated exceptionally strong ocean responses. Strong eastward currents along the equator in the Indian Ocean lasted more than one month from late November 2011 to early January 2012. The influence of these unique MJO events during the field campaign on ITF variability is investigated using a high-resolution (1/25°) global ocean general circulation model, the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM). The strong westerlies associated with these MJO events, which exceed 10 m s−1, generate strong equatorial eastward jets and downwelling near the eastern boundary. The equatorial jets are realistically simulated by the global HYCOM based on the comparison with the data collected during the field campaign. The analysis demonstrates that sea surface height (SSH) and alongshore velocity anomalies at the eastern boundary propagate along the coast of Sumatra and Java as coastal Kelvin waves, significantly reducing the ITF transport at the Makassar Strait during January–early February. The alongshore velocity anomalies associated with the Kelvin wave significantly leads SSH anomalies. The magnitude of the anomalous currents at the Makassar Strait is exceptionally large because of the unique feature of the MJO events, and thus the typical seasonal cycle of ITF could be significantly altered by strong MJO events such as those observed during the CINDY/DYNAMO field campaign.


2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 325-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. W. Humphries ◽  
D. J. Webb

Abstract. The Indonesian Throughflow is analysed in two runs of the OCCAM 1/4 degree global ocean model, one using monthly climatological winds and one using ECMWF analysed six-hourly winds for the period 1993 to 1998. The long-term model throughflow agrees with observations and the value predicted by Godfrey's Island Rule. The Island Rule has some skill in predicting the annual signal each year but is poor at predicting year to year and shorter term variations in the total flow especially in El Nino years. The spectra of transports in individual passages show significant differences between those connecting the region to the Pacific Ocean and those connecting with the Indian Ocean. This implies that different sets of waves are involved in the two regions. Vertical profiles of transport are in reasonable agreement with observations but the model overestimates the near surface transport through the Lombok Strait and the dense overflow from the Pacific through the Lifamatola Strait into the deep Banda Sea. In both cases the crude representation of the passages by the model appears responsible. In the north the model shows, as expected, that the largest transport is via the Makassar Strait. However this is less than expected and instead there is significant flow via the Halmahera Sea. If Godfrey's Island Rule is correct and the throughflow is forced by the northward flow between Australia and South America, then the Halmahers Sea route should be important. It is the most southerly route around New Guinea to the Indian Ocean and there is no apparent reason why the flow should go further north in order to pass through the Makassar Strait. The model result thus raises the question of why in reality the Makassar Strait route appears to dominate the throughflow.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Agustinus Anung Widodo ◽  
Ignatius Trihargiyatno ◽  
Regi Fiji Anggawangsa ◽  
Wudianto Wudianto

Dalam rangka mendeskripsikan pemanfaatan dan inisiasi pengelolaan perikanan tuna neritik di WPPNRI 573, telah dilakukan penelitian dengan mengambil kasus perikanan tuna neritik berbasis di PPN Prigi-Jawa Timur. Data diperoleh melalui program port sampling pada tahun 2013-2017. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan produksi tuna neritik yaitu tongkol lisong (BLT), tongkol krai (FRI), tongkol komo (KAW), dan tongkol abu-abu (LOT) rata-rata sebesar 8.120 ton per tahun. Dari jumlah tersebut, 99,56% diproduksi melalui perikanan pukat cincin (PS) dan sisanya dari perikanan jaring insang hanyut (dGN), payang (DS), dan pancing tonda-pancing ulur (TR-sHL dan dHL). CPUE nominal PS selama 5 tahun terakhir terus menurun, rata-rata 0,891 ton/hari. Komposisi jenis tangkapan PS meliputi BLT (91,52 %), FRI (6,68 %), KAW (1,78 %) dan LOT (0,01 %). Sebanyak 99% BLT yang tertangkap PS merupakan ikan yuwana, sedangkan FRI, KAW, dan LOT sebagian besar tertangkap pada ukuran dewasa masing sebanyak 73%, 70%, dan 55%. Tuna neritik termasuk spesies peruaya jauh, maka pengelolaannya di WPPNRI 573 harus mengacu pada acuan pengelolaan Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC). Mengacu hasil Work Party Neritic Tuna (WPNT) IOTC tahun 2016 dan 2018, maka pengelolaan perikanan tuna neritik di WPPNRI 573 berbasis di PPN Prigi adalah sebagai berikut: (1) hingga 2025 jumlah hasil tangkapan BLT dan FRI harus dikendalikan masing-masing pada jumlah 9.818 ton dan 48 ton per tahun; (2) hingga 2023 tangkapan KAW ditetapkan pada jumlah ± 98 ton per tahun (80% jumlah tangkapan tahun 2013); dan (3) hingga tahun 2025 jumlah tangkapan LOT disarankan sama dengan tangkapan 2015 yaitu ± 1.13 ton per tahun. To describe the utilization and management initiation of tuna neritic fisheries in the Indonesian FMA-RI 573, a research has been conducted by taking the case at the Prigi Fishing Port, East Java. Data were obtained through the port sampling program in 2013-2017. Results show that the production of neritic tuna, namely bullet tuna (BLT), frigate tuna (FRI), kawa-kawa (KAW), and longtail tuna (LOT) was 8,120 tons per year on average. 99.56% of the amount were produced by purse seine (PS) fisheries, the rest came from drifting gill nets (dGN), danish-seine (DS), and the combination of trolling line and surface-deep hand line (TR-sHL and dHL) fisheries. The nominal CPUE of PS over the past 5 years has continued to decline, averaging 0.891 tons/day. The composition of PS catches includes BLT (91.52%), FRI (6.68%), KAW (1.78%) and LOT (0.01%). Large numbers (99%) of the BLT caught by PS were juvenile fish, while at the same time FRI, KAW, and LOT were mostly caught at the adult stage. Neritic tuna is a highly migratory species, so its management in the Indonesian FMARI 573 must refer to the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission-IOTC recommendations. Referring to the results of WPNT-IOTC in 2016 and 2018, the management of neritic tuna fisheries in the Indonesian FMA-RI 573 based at Prigi Fishing Port is as follows: (1) up to 2025, the catches of BLT and FRI must be controlled at 9,818 and 48 tons per year, respectively; (2) up to 2023, the catches of KAW are set at ± 98 tons per year (80% of the total catch in 2013); and (3) up to 2025, the catch of LOT is recommended the same as in 2015, which is ± 1.13 tons per year.


2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 24-62
Author(s):  
K. V. Lebedev ◽  
B. N. Filyushkin ◽  
N. G. Kozhelupova

Peculiarities of the spatial distribution of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf waters in the northwestern part of the Indian Ocean have been investigated based on the Argo float measurement database. 27128 profiles of temperature and salinity were taken into account. To process these data, we used the Argo Model for Investigation of the Global Ocean (AMIGO). This technique allowed us for the first time to obtain a complete set of oceanographic characteristics up to a depth of 2000 m for different time intervals of averaging (month, season, years). Joint analysis of the variability of hydrological characteristics within the depths of 0-500 m during the summer monsoon clearly showed the influence of the Somali Current on the dynamics of the waters of this region: the formation of the largest anticyclone (Great Whirl), coastal upwelling zones, redistribution of water masses in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. The main influence on the formation of the temperature and salinity fields is exerted by the Persian Gulf waters. The same analysis of the variability of fields within the depths of 600-1000 m showed the role of the outflow of the Red Sea waters from the Gulf of Aden in the formation of deep waters in this area during the year. And, finally, at depths of 1000-1500 m, a deep anticyclonic eddy is formed, the southern branch of which, moving westward, at 7˚N. reaches Africa and turns to the south with a narrow stream of Red Sea waters, and then, crossing the equator, reaches 15˚S. An original result was obtained for determining the temporal characteristics of the Somali Current: the time of its formation, the values of transports and life expectancy (according to model estimates of the estimated data for 7 years (1960–1996).


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