Variability of Suitable Habitat of Western Winter-Spring Cohort for Neon Flying Squid in the Northwest Pacific under Anomalous Environments

Wei Yu; Xinjun Chen; Qian Yi; Yong Chen; Yang Zhang

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0122997

Variability of Suitable Habitat of Western Winter-Spring Cohort for Neon Flying Squid in the Northwest Pacific under Anomalous Environments

PLoS One. 2015 Apr 29;10(4):e0122997. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0122997. eCollection 2015.

Authors

Wei Yu¹, Xinjun Chen², Qian Yi², Yong Chen³, Yang Zhang⁴

Affiliations

¹ College of Marine Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Distant-water Fisheries, Shanghai, 201306, China.
² College of Marine Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China; National Engineering Research Center for Oceanic Fisheries, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China; Key Laboratory of Sustainable Exploitation of Oceanic Fisheries Resources, Ministry of Education, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Distant-water Fisheries, Shanghai, 201306, China.
³ School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, 04469, United States of America; Collaborative Innovation Center for Distant-water Fisheries, Shanghai, 201306, China.
⁴ College of Marine Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China.

Abstract

We developed a habitat suitability index (HSI) model to evaluate the variability of suitable habitat for neon flying squid (Ommastrephes bartramii) under anomalous environments in the Northwest Pacific Ocean. Commercial fisheries data from the Chinese squid-jigging vessels on the traditional fishing ground bounded by 35°-45°N and 150°-175°E from July to November during 1998-2009 were used for analyses, as well as the environmental variables including sea surface temperature (SST), chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentration, sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) and sea surface salinity (SSS). Two empirical HSI models (arithmetic mean model, AMM; geometric mean model, GMM) were established according to the frequency distribution of fishing efforts. The AMM model was found to perform better than the GMM model. The AMM-based HSI model was further validated by the fishery and environmental data in 2010. The predicted HSI values in 1998 (high catch), 2008 (average catch) and 2009 (low catch) indicated that the squid habitat quality was strongly associated with the ENSO-induced variability in the oceanic conditions on the fishing ground. The La Niña events in 1998 tended to yield warm SST and favorable range of Chl-a concentration and SSHA, resulting in high-quality habitats for O. bartramii. While the fishing ground in the El Niño year of 2009 experienced anomalous cool waters and unfavorable range of Chl-a concentration and SSHA, leading to relatively low-quality squid habitats. Our findings suggest that the La Niña event in 1998 tended to result in more favorable habitats for O. bartramii in the Northwest Pacific with the gravity centers of fishing efforts falling within the defined suitable habitat and yielding high squid catch; whereas the El Niño event in 2009 yielded less favorable habitat areas with the fishing effort distribution mismatching the suitable habitat and a dramatic decline of the catch of O. bartramii. This study might provide some potentially valuable insights into exploring the relationship between the underlying squid habitat and the inter-annual environmental change.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animal Migration*
Animals
Cephalopoda* / physiology
Computer Simulation
Ecosystem*
Fisheries* / methods
Models, Biological
Northwestern United States
Seasons

Grants and funding

This study was financially supported by the National High-Tech R&D Program (863 Program) of China (2012AA092303), the Project of Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation (12231203900), the Industrialization Program of National Development and Reform Commission (2159999), the National Key Technologies R&D Program of China (2013BAD13B00), the Shanghai Universities First-Class Disciplines Project (Fisheries A), and the Funding Program for Outstanding Dissertations in Shanghai Ocean University. Y. Chen’s involvement is supported by the Shanghai Ocean University International Center for Marine Studies.