Long-term shifts in the species composition of a coastal fish community

2008 ◽  
Vol 65 (7) ◽  
pp. 1352-1365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy S. Collie ◽  
Anthony D. Wood ◽  
H. Perry Jeffries

To study decadal shifts in a coastal nekton community, we analyzed data on 25 fish and invertebrate species collected from 1959 to 2005 by the University of Rhode Island, Graduate School of Oceanography (Narragansett, Rhode Island, USA). This weekly trawl survey samples two locations: inside Narragansett Bay and in Rhode Island Sound. Over four decades, the community has shifted progressively from vertebrates to invertebrates and, especially since 1980, from benthic to pelagic species. Demersal species that declined include winter flounder ( Pseudopleuronectes americanus ), silver hake ( Merluccius bilinearis ), and red hake ( Urophycis chuss ); meanwhile warm-water fish (butterfish, Peprilus triacanthus ; scup, Stenotomus chrysops ) and invertebrates (lobster, crab, squid) increased with time. Total numbers reached a maximum in the 1990s, while mean body size decreased. Taxonomic diversity increased over time, as the community shifted from fish to invertebrates of several phyla. The shifts in species composition correlate most strongly with spring–summer sea surface temperature, which increased 1.6 °C over the 47-year time series. Species composition was also correlated with the winter North Atlantic Oscillation index and chlorophyll concentration, which has declined since the 1970s. Triggered primarily by rising temperatures, these decadal changes have altered the trophic structure of the nekton community, resulting in a shift from benthic to pelagic consumers.

2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (10) ◽  
pp. 1710-1721 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth T. Methratta ◽  
Jason S. Link

Abstract Methratta, E.T., and Link, J.S. 2012. Feeding hotspots for four northwest Atlantic groundfish species. — ICES Journal of Marine Science, 69: 1710–1721. We used predator distribution and stomach content data to estimate the annual per capita rate of consumption for four representative predator species from the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, and considered how consumption is influenced by depth, bottom salinity, sediment grain size, location variables, and species-specific diet components. We found that geographic variables and species-specific prey resources were significantly associated with consumption rates, a pattern consistent with predator-prey theory. Prey categories comprised of fish were particularly important for a more mobile predator (silver hake Merluccius bilinearis), whereas benthic invertebrate prey were consistently important for a more sedentary predator (little skate Raja erinacea). Hotspots in consumption rates that overlap with particular prey resources were highlighted by the significance of location variables (longitude) for winter flounder Pseudopleuronectes americanus, silver hake, little skate, and sea raven Hemitripterus americanus. Depth was an important explanatory factor for consumption by little skate, but the explanatory value of abiotic habitat factors was low for the other three species. Greater emphasis on species-specific food habits, migratory patterns, and ecological interactions at the synoptic scales relevant to fisheries is needed for fisheries management.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 543-543
Author(s):  
Skye Leedahl ◽  
Melanie Brasher ◽  
Erica Estus

Abstract To more rigorously examine the University of Rhode Island Cyber-Seniors Program, we conducted a quasi-experimental study to examine if older adult senior center participants (n=25) improved scores on social and technological measures compared to a sample of senior center participants (n=25) who did not take part in the program. Findings showed that participants improved on technology measures compared to the non-participants, including searching and finding information about goods & services, obtaining information from public authorities or services, seeking health information, sending or receiving emails, and participating in online social networks (p<.05). However, participants did not change on social measures. There is either a need to identify better social measures to understand the social benefits of taking part, or to bolster the program to aid in helping older adults alleviate isolation and loneliness. Information on best practices and challenges for gathering outcomes from older participants will be discussed. Part of a symposium sponsored by Intergenerational Learning, Research, and Community Engagement Interest Group.


1977 ◽  
Vol 34 (12) ◽  
pp. 2369-2373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doris Fraser Hiltz ◽  
D. H. North ◽  
Barbara Smith Lall ◽  
R. A. Keith

Refrozen silver hake (Merluccius bilinearis), processed as fillets and minced flesh after thawing of stored round fish that had been frozen within 14 h of capture, underwent rapid deterioration during storage at −18 °C compared with once-frozen control materials from the same lot of fish. The estimated maximum storage life of silver hake refrozen as fillets after 3 and 6 mo storage of the round fish at −25 °C was reduced to about 4.5 and 1 mo, respectively, from 10 mo for once-frozen control fillets. Quality of the refrozen materials immediately after thawing and refreezing was similar to that of the round-frozen fish, except after 6 mo, where some initial deterioration occurred, particularly in minced flesh. Minced flesh was more unstable in frozen storage than fillets. In all once- and twice-frozen materials, formation of dimethylamine occurred concomitantly with decrease in protein extractability. Round-frozen fish underwent no loss in protein extractability during 6 mo storage at −25 °C, but some lipid hydrolysis occurred. These results suggest that the freeze–thaw–refreeze process as applied to silver hake will yield a final product of acceptable quality provided that storage of the round fish does not exceed 3–4 mo and that the refrozen materials are marketed within a month after processing. Key words: silver hake, Merluccius bilinearis, refrozen storage, dimethylamine, minced flesh


2018 ◽  
Vol 131 ◽  
pp. 267-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
France Liboiron ◽  
Justine Ammendolia ◽  
Jacquelyn Saturno ◽  
Jessica Melvin ◽  
Alex Zahara ◽  
...  

PMLA ◽  
1976 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 533-534
Author(s):  
Ernest H. Hofer

The Northeast Modern Language Association had a very productive year. Membership now numbers 1,000 (roughly), and although the strike caused obvious difficulties for members located in Canada, even that “blank” seems now to have regained constituency. Modern Language Studies, the periodical sponsored by the Association and published at the University of Rhode Island, appeared with predictable regularity—a fall issue, a spring issue—under the editorship of Edna Steeves (for English manuscripts) and Armand Chartier (for modern language manuscripts). Happily, the arrangement will continue an additional two years, at least, for the agreement between the University of Rhode Island and NEMLA has been extended through 1978, including a partial subsidy by that University. A faculty member of NEMLA, for $6.00 ($3.00 for graduate students), has received two issues of MLS and the chance to attend the conference, scheduled this year at the University of Vermont, Burlington. (Membership dues will rise to $10.00 for faculty and $5.00 for students this September.)


1999 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 288-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
D M Gillis

The detailed spatial and temporal data collected for the regulation of the silver hake (Merluccius bilinearis) fishery on the Scotian Shelf provide a unique opportunity to test hypotheses about variability in catch rates on the scale of individual trawls. I used these data to examine vessel interactions and long-term temporal trends in catchability. An index of course linearity, derived from observed positions, times, and speeds of fishing vessels, indicated that interference competition was present in the fishery. However, catch rate did not decline with local vessel density. This apparent contradiction is consistent with fleet dynamic theory and suggests that the direct examination of catch rates is a poor test for interference in the retrospective analysis of fisheries data. The study of extended periods of high, localized fishing activity revealed a cycle in catch rates with periods of about 6 days. Such periods may represent an interaction between tidal, diel, and (or) technological factors. Although more study is required to identify the cause of these cycles, their existence should be considered in the design of surveys and other population studies using catch and effort data.


2017 ◽  
Vol 141 (5) ◽  
pp. 3682-3682
Author(s):  
Lora J. Van Uffelen ◽  
Gopu R. Potty ◽  
James H Miller

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