Stability of elemental signatures in the scales of spawning weakfish, Cynoscion regalis

2003 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 361-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian K Wells ◽  
Simon R Thorrold ◽  
Cynthia M Jones
Keyword(s):  
Chesapeake Bay ◽  
Juvenile Fish ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Delaware Bay ◽  
Adult Fish ◽  
Juvenile Period ◽  
Cynoscion Regalis ◽  
Natural Tags ◽  
Pamlico Sound

We quantified elemental signatures in scales of ages-1 and -2 weakfish, Cynoscion regalis, collected during the spawning season in Pamlico Sound, Chesapeake Bay, and Delaware Bay in 1998. We compared these signatures with elemental signatures from scales of juvenile weakfish collected while still resident in natal estuaries at five locations along the Atlantic coast in 1996 and 1997. Although Mg/Ca and Mn/Ca were lower in the juvenile portion of scales from adults compared with scales from juvenile fish, Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca were similar in the three age groups. We compared scale and otolith chemistries from juveniles and adults to determine if relative concentrations of elements/Ca in scales remained consistent, even if absolute levels were altered. Scale Mn/Ca and Ba/Ca remained correlated with those in otoliths of adult fish. Finally, we examined the ability of elemental signatures in scales to act as natural tags of natal estuaries in spawning weakfish. Allocation of fish to natal estuaries based on geochemical signatures in scales and otoliths from age-1 fish was similar; however, allocation was different for age-2 fish. Elemental signatures in scales degraded after the juvenile period and after maturation were insufficiently stable for use as a natural tag of natal origins in weakfish.

Eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) in the Chesapeake Bay Region of Mid-Atlantic Coast of the USA: Challenges in Conservation and Restoration

2009 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Orth ◽  
Scott R. Marion ◽  
Kenneth A. Moore ◽  
David J. Wilcox
Keyword(s):  
Chesapeake Bay ◽  
Zostera Marina ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
The Usa

scholarly journals Can we predict the future: juvenile finfish and their seagrass nurseries in the Chesapeake Bay

2013 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 681-688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia M. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Chesapeake Bay ◽  
Juvenile Fish ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Potential Effect ◽  
Seagrass Habitat ◽  
Important Conclusion ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Landscape Level

Abstract The importance of estuarine seagrass beds as nurseries for juvenile fish has become a universal paradigm, especially for estuaries that are as important as the Chesapeake Bay. Yet, scientific tests of this hypothesis were equivocal depending on species, location, and metrics. Moreover, seagrasses themselves are under threat and one-third of seagrasses have disappeared worldwide with 65% of their losses occurring in estuaries. Although there have been extensive studies of seagrasses in the Chesapeake Bay, surprisingly few studies have quantified the relationship between seagrass as nurseries for finfish in the Bay. Of the few studies that have directly evaluated the use of seagrass nurseries, most have concentrated on single species or were of short duration. Few landscape-level or long-term studies have examined this relationship in the Bay or explored the potential effect of climate change. This review paper summarizes the seagrass habitat value as nurseries and presents recent juvenile fish studies that address the dearth of research at the long term and landscape level with an emphasis on the Chesapeake Bay. An important conclusion upon the review of these studies is that predicting the effects of climate change on fishery production remains uncertain.

Use of Parasites for Separating Stocks of Greenland Halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) in the Canadian Northwest Atlantic

1993 ◽  
Vol 50 (10) ◽  
pp. 2175-2181 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Arthur ◽  
E. Albert
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Large Fish ◽  
Adult Fish ◽  
Greenland Halibut ◽  
Pseudoterranova Decipiens ◽  
Saguenay Fjord ◽  
Greenland Halibut Reinhardtius Hippoglossoides ◽  
Reinhardtius Hippoglossoides ◽  
Biological Tags ◽  
Discriminant Function Analyses

The usefulness of parasites as biological tags for stocks of Greenland halibut (Reinharditius hippoglossoides) occurring off the Atlantic coast of Canada and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence was investigated. Nonparametric discriminant function analyses of eight collections comprising a total of 231 large fish (>39 cm) using counts for selected parasite taxa (Corynosoma strumosum juvenile, Otodistomum sp. metacercaria, Contracaecinea spp. larva, Anisakis simplex larva, and Pseudoterranova decipiens larva) gave accurate results (almost 100% correct classification) for the separation of fish from the Gulf of St. Lawrence from those collected from adjacent areas of the Saguenay Fjord and the Atlantic Ocean off Labrador. Little, if any, mixing of subadult or adult fish apparently occurs among these areas.

scholarly journals Age, Growth and Ovarian Histology of Sardinella aurita (Valenciennes, 1847) in the South of Atlantic Moroccan Coast

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (04) ◽  
pp. 191-204
Author(s):  
Ayoub Baali ◽  
Oum Keltoum Belhsen ◽  
Khalil Chahdi Ouazzani ◽  
Khadija Amenzoui ◽  
Ahmed Yahyaoui
Keyword(s):  
Frequency Distribution ◽  
Stock Assessment ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Age Determination ◽  
Length Frequency Distribution ◽  
Length Frequency ◽  
The South ◽  
Moroccan Coast ◽  
Sardinella Aurita

Otoliths reading and length frequency distribution were used for age determination and growth estimation of Sardinella aurita (round sardinella) stock of Southern Atlantic coast of Morocco. Both otoliths' method for age determination and Bhattacharya’s method for length frequency analysis showed five age groups. The growth performance index revealed that there is significant accordance among method of length frequency distribution and otoliths reading for stock assessment studies of Sardinella aurita stock in the south of Morocco. The microscopic observation of female gonads using histology method was investigated for the first time in our study area and confirms the presence of five principal stages of ovary of sardinella aurita: immature, maturing virgin and recovering spent, mature (or pre-spawning phase), spawning, post-spawning or spent. In addition, our results of the fecundity showed that the mean relative fecundity obtained is estimated at 193 ± 98 oocytes/g which is lower compared to those obtained in other areas in the Atlantic coast.

Biology, Management, and Protection of North American Sturgeon

2002 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
South Carolina ◽  
Chesapeake Bay ◽  
Hudson River ◽  
Delaware Bay ◽  
Late Nineteenth Century ◽  
Atlantic Sturgeon ◽  
Preparation Methods ◽  
Abundance Estimate ◽  
Abundance Estimates

<em>Abstract.</em>—This paper analyzes historical abundances of spawning stocks of Atlantic sturgeon <em>Acipenser oxyrinchus</em> during the late nineteenth century, when peak United States harvest of Atlantic sturgeon occurred (3,200 metric tons in 1888). The advent of preparation methods for caviar, transportation networks that allowed export of caviar to Europe, improvements in fishing technology, and development of a domestic smoked sturgeon market caused rapid emergence of an Atlantic sturgeon industry after the Civil War. The industry originated and was centered in the Delaware Bay, which supported the most abundant population on the U.S. East Coast. Important fisheries also developed in the Chesapeake Bay, the Carolinas, and Georgia. Caviar was the principal marketable product of the fishery and large females were targeted, resulting in fisheries collapse at the turn of the century. No substantial resurgence of Atlantic sturgeon landings has occurred in the twentieth century. A previous analysis of U.S. Fish Commission catch and effort records for the Delaware Bay fishery provided an estimate of 180,000 females prior to 1890. The Delaware Bay abundance estimate was extrapolated to other states by calculating the mean level of each state’s contribution to U.S. yields during the period 1880–1901. This approach led to abundance estimates of 29,000 for the Southern States (North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida), 20,000 for the Chesapeake Bay (Maryland, Virginia), 180,000 for the Delaware Bay, and 6,000 for the Hudson River (New York). Although the approaches used to estimate historical biomass and abundance contain untested assumptions and biases, the dominance of the Delaware Bay population in comparison to others is in part confirmed by the industry that developed there. Given the uncertainty in abundance estimates, conservative benchmarks are proposed of 10,000 females each, for systems that previously supported important fisheries.

Wintering Sea Duck Distribution Along the Atlantic Coast of the United States

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 178-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. D. Silverman ◽  
D. T. Saalfeld ◽  
J. B. Leirness ◽  
M. D. Koneff
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Chesapeake Bay ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
The United States ◽  
Common Eider ◽  
Cape Cod ◽  
Sea Ducks ◽  
Surf Scoter ◽  
Sea Duck ◽  
The U.S

Abstract Although monitoring data for sea ducks (Tribe Mergini) are limited, current evidence suggests that four of the most common species wintering along the eastern coast of the United States—long-tailed duck Clangula hyemalis, white-winged scoter Melanitta fusca, surf scoter Melanitta perspicillata, and black scoter Melanitta americana—may be declining, while the status of American common eider Somateria mollissima dresseri is uncertain. The apparent negative trends, combined with the fact that sea duck life histories are among the most poorly documented of North American waterfowl, have led to concerns for these species and questions about the impacts of human activities, such as hunting, as well as catastrophic events and environmental change. During winter, thousands of sea ducks are found along the U.S. Atlantic coast, where they may be affected by proposed wind-power development, changes to marine traffic, aquaculture practices, sand mining, and other coastal development. Possible impacts are difficult to quantify because traditional winter waterfowl surveys do not cover many of the marine habitats used by sea ducks. Thus, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducted an experimental survey of sea ducks from 2008 to 2011 to characterize their winter distributions along the U.S. Atlantic coast. Each year, data were collected on 11 species of sea ducks on &gt;200 transects, stretching from Maine to Florida. In this paper, we describe distribution of common eider, long-tailed duck, white-winged scoter, surf scoter, and black scoter. Densities of the two species with the most northerly distribution, white-winged scoter and common eider, were highest near Cape Cod and Nantucket. Long-tailed duck was most abundant around Cape Cod, Nantucket Shoals, and in Chesapeake Bay. Surf scoter also concentrated within Chesapeake Bay; however, they were additionally found in high densities in Delaware Bay, and along the Maryland–Delaware outer coast. Black scoter, the most widely distributed species, occurred at high densities along the South Carolina coast and the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. Spatial patterns of high-density transects were consistent among years for all species except black scoter, which exhibited the most interannual variation in distribution. The distance from land, depth, and bottom slope where flocks were observed varied among species and regions, with a median distance of 3.8 km from land along the coastal transects and 75% of flocks observed over depths of &lt;16 m. Common eider and long-tailed duck were observed closer to shore and over steeper ocean bottoms than were the three scoter species. Our results represent the first large-scale quantitative description of winter sea duck distribution along the U.S. Atlantic coast, and should guide the development of sea duck monitoring programs and aid the assessment of potential impacts of ongoing and proposed offshore development.

scholarly journals Late Pleistocene marginal marine ostracodes from the southeastern Atlantic coastal plain and their paleoenvironmental implications

2010 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas M. Cronin
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
South Carolina ◽  
Chesapeake Bay ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Atlantic Coastal Plain ◽  
East Central ◽  
Bay Area ◽  
Pamlico Sound ◽  
Atlantic Coastal ◽  
Southeastern Atlantic

Upper Pleistocene deposits from 21 localities in Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and northern Florida yielded 77 ostracode species; virtually all are living today in brackish and marine water. Five late Pleistocene ostracode biofacies signifying lagoonal, oyster bank, estuarine, open sound, and inner sublittoral environments were delineated using Principal Coordinate Analysis. During the late Pleistocene, the Lagoonal and Oyster Bank Biofacies predominated in the Chesapeake Bay area, whereas east-central North Carolina was characterized by an Open Sound Biofacies similar to that in Pamlico Sound today. The Inner Sublittoral Biofacies was present in southeastern Virginia and along the South Carolina coast. The Estuarine Biofacies was found only in the Chesapeake Bay region. Paleoclimates were inferred by a comparison of Holocene and late Pleistocene ostracode zoogeography; apparently the climate during the late Pleistocene was as warm as, and in some areas warmer than at the same latitudes today. Ostracode species are illustrated by scanning electron photomicrographs Cyprideis margarita, Neocaudites atlan-tica, and Microcytherura norfolkensis are described as new species.

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