Trade-offs between risks of predation and starvation in larvae make the shelf break an optimal spawning location for Atlantic bluefin tuna
Open accessPublished version of a preprint
Abstract
Atlantic bluefin tuna (ABT) (Thunnus thynnus) travel long distances to spawn in oligotrophic regions of the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) which suggests these regions offer some unique benefit to offspring survival. To better understand how larval survival varies within the GoM a spatially explicit, Lagrangian, individual-based model was developed that simulates dispersal and mortality of ABT early life stages within realistic predator and prey fields during the spawning periods from 1993 to 2012. The model estimates that starvation is the largest cumulative source of mortality associated with an early critical period. However, elevated predation on older larvae is identified as the main factor limiting survival to late postflexion. As a result, first-feeding larvae have higher survival on the shelf where food is abundant, whereas older larvae have higher survival in the open ocean with fewer predators, making the shelf break an optimal spawning area. The modeling framework developed in this study explicitly simulates both physical and biological factors that impact larval survival and hence could be used to support ecosystem based management efforts for ABT under current and future climate conditions.
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For bigeye tuna, which primarily spawn in tropical regions, prey availability is more relevant than temperature to larvae.
“In particular, for species such as bigeye tuna, which primarily spawn in tropical regions, prey availability is more relevant than temperature to larvae (Reglero et al., 2014; Shropshire et al., 2022).”
From Impacts of phytoplankton availability on bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) recruitment in the Indian Ocean (2024) · cites this paper as Shropshire et al., 2022
The Results (Habitat suitability; page unavailable) say declining prey biomass increased food limitation for Atlantic bluefin tuna larvae, while increased temperature had an approximately neutral effect on food limitation. This supports the prey-versus-temperature comparison for the species studied, but the paper does not establish it for bigeye tuna or describe bigeye spawning regions. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredBigeye tuna recruits experience exceedingly high mortality throughout the hatching and early life stages.
“It is worth noting that the recruits experience exceedingly high mortality throughout the hatching and early life stages (Anderson, 1988; Russo et al., 2022; Shropshire et al., 2022).”
From Impacts of phytoplankton availability on bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) recruitment in the Indian Ocean (2024) · cites this paper as Shropshire et al., 2022
The Introduction says broadcast-spawning fish such as Atlantic bluefin tuna experience exceedingly high mortality upon hatching and throughout early life. The Results section, “Temporal variability in larval survival,” also reports very low early survival for Atlantic bluefin tuna. The paper does not establish this specifically for bigeye tuna recruits. (LLM, conf=0.83)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredTuna larvae depend on zooplankton availability after yolk sack absorption.
“To meet their metabolic requirements, tuna larvae hinge on the zooplankton availability after the yolk sack absorption (Llopiz and Hobday, 2015; Shropshire et al., 2022).”
From Impacts of phytoplankton availability on bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) recruitment in the Indian Ocean (2024) · cites this paper as Shropshire et al., 2022
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Cites
Varying mesoscale structures influence larval fish distribution in the northern Gulf of Mexico
Lindo-Atichati, D., Bringas, F., Goni, G., Muhling, B., Muller-Karger, F., & Habtes, S. (2012) · Marine Ecology Progress Series · doi:10.3354/meps09860 · Cited by 112 · see citing works
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“Mesoscale variability and the resulting spatiotemporal extent of favorable larval habitat has been estimated for larval ABT by previous studies (Domingues et al., 2016; Muhling et al., 2013; Reglero et al., 2014).”
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“Mesoscale variability and the resulting spatiotemporal extent of favorable larval habitat has been estimated for larval ABT by previous studies (Domingues et al., 2016; Muhling et al., 2013; Reglero et al., 2014).”
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Wang, Y., Zhang, Y., Geng, Z., & Zhu, J. (2024) · Frontiers in Marine Science · doi:10.3389/fmars.2024.1392273 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“However, throughout the hatching and early life stages, eggs experience exceedingly high levels of mortality(Anderson, 1988; Russo et al., 2022; Shropshire et al., 2022).”
- Authors
- Shropshire, T. A., Morey, S. L., Chassignet, E. P., Karnauskas, M., Coles, V. J., Malca, E., Laiz-Carrión, R., Fiksen, Ø., Reglero, P., Shiroza, A., Quintanilla Hervas, J. M., Gerard, T., Lamkin, J. T., & Stukel, M. R.
- Affiliations
- Florida State University (US)
- NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service Southeast Fisheries Science Center (US)
- University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (US)
- University of Miami (US)
- CENTRO OCEANOGRáFICO DE MáLAGA , INSTITUTO ESPAñOL DE OCEANOGRAFíA, FUENGIROLA, Spain
- University of Bergen (NO)
- Instituto Español de Oceanografía (ES)
- Corresponding author
- Shropshire, Taylor A
- ORCID
- Venue
- Journal of Plankton Research
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2021-06-22
- Volume
- 44
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 782-798
- ISSN
- 0142-7873 (ISSN-L)
- 1464-3774
- PMC
- PMC9424715
- OpenAlex
- W3174741611
- Cited by
- 30
- References
- 6
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 5
- FWCI
- 1.74
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Plankton Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DIGITAL.CSIC (Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Aquila Digital Community (University of Southern Mississippi) (submittedVersion)
- NOAA Institutional Repository (submittedVersion)
- NOAA Institutional Repository (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- NOAA (NA20OAR4320472, NA16OAR4320199, NA15OAR4320064, NOAA-NOS-NCCOS-2017-2004875)
- University of Miami
- Northern Gulf Institute (18-NGI3-52, 18-NGI3-41)
- International Educational Foundation (NA16SEC48100009)
- NSF (1851347)
- NASA (80NSSC17K0560)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Marine and fisheries research
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Ichthyology and Marine Biology
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Fish Ecology and Management Studies
- Keywords
- Thunnus thynnus, larval survival, predation risk, starvation mortality, early life stages, larval dispersal, Gulf of Mexico, ecosystem-based management, climate change
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