Spatial and Temporal Dynamics of Larval Fish Assemblages in the Strait of Georgia
| dc.contributor.author | Guan, Lu | |
| dc.contributor.supervisor | Dower, John F. | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2015-04-30T20:33:30Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2016-04-03T11:22:07Z | |
| dc.date.copyright | 2015 | en_US |
| dc.date.issued | 2015-04-30 | |
| dc.degree.department | Department of Biology | en_US |
| dc.degree.level | Doctor of Philosophy Ph.D. | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | For marine fishes, the early larval phase is considered a critical stage for survivorship and recruitment. The spatial and temporal dynamics of larval fish assemblages can influence their success and trophic structure of marine communities and entire ecosystems. This thesis will provide the first characterization of larval fish assemblage in the Strait of Georgia (SoG) in terms of diversity, abundance and composition, and their variability over multiple temporal scales, as well as the first quantification of variability in larval fish distribution in the SoG across multiple spatial scales. On the interdecadal scale, a significant decrease in larval abundance of several dominant fish taxa (Pacific hake, walleye Pollock, northern smoothtongue and rockfishes) contributed to a decline in total larval abundance and turnover in the composition structure between the early 1980s and the late 2000s. In contrast, both abundance and the relative composition of flatfishes and several demersal forage fish taxa increased during the same period. On interannual scales, abundance, diversity and community structure of the spring larval assemblages varied dramatically through 2007-2010, a period which alternated between strong La Niña and El Niño events. Higher overall larval concentrations were associated with warm conditions in the SoG in 2007 and 2010, while the lowest larval concentration was associated with cooler condition in 2009. Examination of associations between larval fish assemblages and environmental fluctuations suggests a potential influence of large-scale climate processes between the early 1980s and the late 2000s, but a primary association with local environmental factors on interannual scales. Spatial patterns in larval density of three dominant fish taxa (Pacific herring, Pacific hake and northern smoothtongue) were mostly structured on predefined broad (> 40km) and medium (20~40km) scales. Although their scale-dependent associations with environmental factors varied interannually, larval distributions in the central-southern SoG were generally associated with salinity, temperature and vertical stability of water column in the upper layer (0-50m). Our results emphasize the role of local estuarine circulation in structuring hierarchical spatial distributions of planktonic fish larvae in the SoG. These findings will provide considerable implications in fisheries resource management and conservation strategies. | en_US |
| dc.description.proquestcode | 0416 | en_US |
| dc.description.proquestcode | 0329 | en_US |
| dc.description.proquestemail | guanlu129@gmail.com | en_US |
| dc.description.scholarlevel | Graduate | en_US |
| dc.identifier.bibliographicCitation | Guan, L., Snelgrove, P. V. R. and Gamperl, A. L. 2008. Ontogenetic changes in critical swimming speed of Gadus morhua (Atlantic cod) and Myoxocephalus scorpius (Shorthorn sculpin) larvae and the role of temperature. Journal of Marine Biology and Ecology. 360: 31-38. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.bibliographicCitation | Bradbury, I. R., Gardiner, K., Snelgrove, P. V. R., Campana, S. E., Bentzen, P. and L. Guan. 2006. Larval Transport, Vertical Migration Behavior, and localized Recruitment in Anadromous rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax). Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science. 63(12): 2282-2836. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1828/6092 | |
| dc.language | English | eng |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.rights | Available to the World Wide Web | en_US |
| dc.rights.uri | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca/ | * |
| dc.subject | larval fish assemblage | en_US |
| dc.subject | temporal dynamics | en_US |
| dc.subject | spatial distributions | en_US |
| dc.subject | environmental driving forces | en_US |
| dc.subject | Strait of Georgia | en_US |
| dc.subject | climate changes | en_US |
| dc.subject | abundance | en_US |
| dc.subject | diversity | en_US |
| dc.subject | assemblage composition | en_US |
| dc.subject | multiple scales | en_US |
| dc.title | Spatial and Temporal Dynamics of Larval Fish Assemblages in the Strait of Georgia | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |