Seasonal movements of American lobsters in southern Gulf of Maine coastal waters: patterns, environmental triggers, and implications for larval release

Seasonal changes in profiles of both UV absorbance and phenolic material versus salinity were observed in some estuarine and coastal waters of the Gulf of Maine. Profiles of riverine UV-absorbent and phenolic materials were seasonally invariant, with slight losses from high molecular weight fractions during estuarine mixing. In estuaries containing significant populations of fucoid macroalgae, exudation by the macroalgae increased levels of these parameters by as much as threefold. These increases showed a strong seasonal pulsing, following water temperature. This pulsing was detectable in seasonal transects of adjacent shelf waters.

Download Full-text

Seasonal Movements of Atlantic Herring (Clupea harengus): Results From a Four Year Tagging Study Conducted in the Gulf of Maine and Southern New England

Journal of Northwest Atlantic Fishery Science ◽

10.2960/j.v40.m577 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 40 ◽

pp. 29-39 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

J K Kanwit ◽

D A Libby

Keyword(s):

New England ◽

Gulf Of Maine ◽

Clupea Harengus ◽

Atlantic Herring ◽

Seasonal Movements ◽

Southern New England

Download Full-text

Stratification and Mixing in Coastal Waters of the Western Gulf of Maine during Summer

Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada ◽

10.1139/f68-231 ◽

1968 ◽

Vol 25 (12) ◽

pp. 2609-2621 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Edward M. Hulburt

Keyword(s):

High Temperatures ◽

Coastal Waters ◽

Low Temperatures ◽

Gulf Of Maine ◽

Cold Water ◽

Vertical Mixing ◽

Tidal Mixing ◽

Western Coast ◽

Surface Temperatures ◽

Light Wind

In the summers of 1966 and 1967, very low surface temperatures, about 11 C, and weakly stratified water occurred along the western coast of the Gulf of Maine at Cape Nedick, in the Sheepscot River, and off Vinalhaven Island at the mouth of Penobscot Bay. Moderately low temperatures, about 13 C, were found often between the islands of Casco Bay. These low temperatures indicate an active vertical mixing, associated with tidal currents, that transports water warmed at the surface downward and cold water upward.Where tidal mixing is reduced, offshore from Cape Ann and in the landward confines of Casco Bay, surface temperatures over 17 C and pronounced stratification occurred. When these high temperatures were observed off Cape Ann, the weather was sunny and calm, or a light wind caused very little mixing. Within Casco Bay temperatures of 17 C or more were observed during a period when fogs were prevalent, allowing heating in clear spells in the daytime and a minimum of cooling at night.

Download Full-text

Distribution and Movements of Belugas, Delphinapterus leucas, in the Canadian High Arctic

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f94-166 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 51 (7) ◽

pp. 1653-1663 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Thomas G. Smith ◽

A. R. Martin

Keyword(s):

Coastal Waters ◽

High Arctic ◽

Delphinapterus Leucas ◽

Canadian High Arctic ◽

Directed Movement ◽

Seasonal Movements ◽

Devon Island ◽

Aerial Surveys ◽

Fast Ice ◽

Somerset Island

Belugas, Delphinapterus leucas, move into the coastal waters of Somerset Island as soon as the annual land-fast ice breaks up in late June – early July. Six bays or inlets which receive the outflow of rivers are the major areas of summer aggregation. Belugas captured and equipped with satellite-linked UHF transmitters in Cunningham Inlet (Barrow Strait), Elwin Bay (Prince Regent Inlet), and Creswell Bay moved west into Peel Sound where they frequented two other estuaries. Rapid and directed movement out of Peel Sound occurred in late August. All of the animals which transmitted locations into September or October moved to eastern Devon Island and Jones Sound. The longest period of transmission was 75 d, lasting until mid-October. Belugas tagged in three different locations around Somerset Island in the summers of 1988–93 showed a well-defined and consistent pattern of behaviour. Aerial surveys done during this period confirm that the vast majority of belugas in this region are involved in these seasonal movements.

Download Full-text

Seasonal movements and connectivity of an Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) spawning component in the western Gulf of Maine

ICES Journal of Marine Science ◽

10.1093/icesjms/fsw190 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 74 (6) ◽

pp. 1780-1796 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Douglas R. Zemeckis ◽

Chang Liu ◽

Geoffrey W. Cowles ◽

Micah J. Dean ◽

William S. Hoffman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Population Structure ◽

Data Storage ◽

Gadus Morhua ◽

Fishery Management ◽

Gulf Of Maine ◽

Atlantic Cod ◽

Stock Assessment ◽

Movement Patterns ◽

Seasonal Movements ◽

Spawning Sites

Abstract Movement patterns of marine fishes can have considerable impacts on their population dynamics. A thorough understanding of fish movements is therefore required for informing stock identification, stock assessment, and fishery management. This study investigated the seasonal movements and connectivity of a spring-spawning component of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the western Gulf of Maine. From 2010 through 2013, spawning cod were sampled within an inshore spawning closure and tagged with conventional tags (n = 2368), acoustic transmitters (n = 106), and archival data storage tags (n = 266). Acoustic receivers were deployed on three inshore spawning sites to test for connectivity among sites. Data from archival tags were used to describe seasonal habitat occupancy and movement patterns via geolocation to statistical areas. Tagging data indicated that cod were primarily residential in the western Gulf of Maine, moving inshore to spawn during the spring (April–July), followed by an offshore migration to their feeding grounds for summer and fall. Cod generally inhabited waters from 45 to 175 m, with the deep offshore basins (>150 m) serving as overwintering habitat. Occupied water temperatures ranged from 4.0 to 13.3 °C, with the coldest temperatures experienced from March through July and the warmest temperatures experienced from September through January. Results provided evidence of spawning site fidelity and connectivity among spawning sites, with some fish visiting multiple spawning sites within or between years. The movements observed during and after the spring-spawning season serve as important mechanisms influencing metapopulation dynamics in the Gulf of Maine region, including both fine- and broad-scale population structure. The improved understanding of cod movement patterns will assist fishery managers in developing management plans, including spawning protection measures, and help to address remaining uncertainties with respect to cod population structure in the Gulf of Maine and other regions.

Download Full-text

Using conventional and pop-up satellite transmitting tags to assess the horizontal movements and habitat use of thorny skate (Amblyraja radiata) in the Gulf of Maine

ICES Journal of Marine Science ◽

10.1093/icesjms/fsaa149 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jeff Kneebone ◽

James Sulikowski ◽

Ryan Knotek ◽

W David McElroy ◽

Brian Gervelis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Population Structure ◽

Gulf Of Maine ◽

Movement Ecology ◽

Linear Displacement ◽

Population Recovery ◽

Species At Risk ◽

Seasonal Movements ◽

Potential Efficacy ◽

Cardinal Directions

Abstract Thorny skate (Amblyraja radiata) have experienced decreasing abundance and range contraction in the Gulf of Maine (GOM) in recent decades. To better understand the extent to which population structure, environmental conditions, and movement ecology may play a role in these disruptions, 128 “mark-report” pop-up satellite tags (mrPATs) and 2195 conventional tags were deployed from 2002 to 2019. Data obtained from 84 mrPATs and 43 conventional tag recaptures [127 individuals: 55 males, 72 females; 32–104 cm total length (TL)] revealed minimum linear horizontal movements of 0.4–46.8 km in all cardinal directions over periods 22–3435 d. There was no relationship between days at liberty, TL, sex, depth, reporting season, or tag type and minimum linear displacement, and no broad seasonal movements were evident. Skates were observed at depths 27–201 m and in water temperatures 2.5–12.5°C, with fluctuations in both depth and temperature evident by season. Given their restricted movements, thorny skate may represent a single stock/population with metapopulation-like structure in the GOM. The pervasiveness of sedentary behaviour may also place the species at risk of localized depletion and climate change but also demonstrates the potential efficacy of spatial closures for promoting population recovery.

Download Full-text

Meristic Composition of Sand Lance (Ammodytes spp.) in Newfoundland Waters with a Review of Species Designations in the Northwest Atlantic

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f88-061 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 45 (3) ◽

pp. 516-529 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

G. H. Winters ◽

E. L. Dalley

Keyword(s):

Coastal Waters ◽

Gulf Of Maine ◽

Good Evidence ◽

Published Data ◽

Sand Lance ◽

Northwest Atlantic ◽

West Greenland ◽

The North ◽

Meristic Counts ◽

First Time

Examination of new meristic data on sand lance (Ammodytes spp.) populations in Newfoundland coastal waters using a combination of discriminant function and modal analyses demonstrates for the first time that co-occurrence is a common feature of the distribution of the two species (A. dubius and A. americanus) provisionally considered to exist in the Northwest Atlantic. In addition, the consistency in the meristic counts of A. dubius between the offshore and inshore samples and the postulated spawning of A. dubius in Newfoundland coastal waters provides good evidence that A. dubius is reproductively isolated from A. americanus. Reanalysis of published data on the vertebral composition of sand lance in the Northwest Atlantic confirms the co-occurrence of A. americanus and A. dubius in inshore areas from West Greenland southwards to the Gulf of Maine. These new analyses taken together with a review of the major distinguishing characteristics of sand lance species in the North Atlantic waters lead us to conclude that the heterogeneous assemblage of sand lance found inshore from West Greenland southwards and offshore from Georges Bank southwards and which has traditionally been classified as A. americanus belongs to a single trans-Atlantic species, A. marinus.

Download Full-text