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Cited by 107Marine and fisheries researchIchthyology and Marine BiologyMarine animal studies overview

Association between bluefin tuna schools and oceanic features in the western Mediterranean

Open access
Royer, F, Fromentin, JM, Gaspar, P·2004·Marine Ecology Progress Series
DOI 10.3354/meps269249
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Abstract

We present an analysis of the distribution of bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus schools spotted during aerial surveys in the Gulf of Lions, in relation to oceanographic features.Bio-optical and thermal properties of the sea surface derived from high-resolution sensors (AVHRR and SeaWiFS) were studied on a daily basis, and an edge-detection technique was applied to detect frontal zones.Geostatistics and point-process analyses were used to evaluate the role of the environment in structuring the spatial pattern of bluefin tuna (BFT).The distribution of schools spotted was strongly nonstationary both in space and time; this is believed to be an effect of the survey design (transect sampling) and the influence of transient oceanographic structures (surface fronts and eddies).The empirical variograms indicated a spatial range of the BFT schools at around 40 km, with substantial daily variability.Ripley's K statistic, as well as autocorrelation plots, revealed that the fish schools were clustered over a wider range of scales (from 10 to 80 km), indicating more spatial structure than would be expected from a random process.Finally, BFT school distributions appeared well determined by the oceanic features, except at very small scales (<10 km), where over-aggregation occurred, and at the largest scales of our study (> 40 km), where over-spreading was detected.Dynamical ecological processes, such as foraging, are likely to induce this complex spatial pattern.Possible reasons for the association of tuna with fronts are presented.

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  • Spatio-temporally averaged DCHL values might not best determine the distribution of these visual predators by themselves, compared with DCHL fronts to which tunas might be attracted.

    “spatio-temporally averaged DCHL values might not best determine, by themselves, the distribution of these visual predators, compared with DCHL fronts to which tunas might be attracted (Brill and Lutcavage, 2001;Royer et al., 2004;Sagarminaga and Arrizabalaga, 2014).”

    From Global habitat preferences of commercially valuable tuna (2015) · cites this paper as Royer et al., 2004

    In “Spatial distribution of bluefin tuna schools” (page unavailable), the paper reports that pooled chlorophyll-concentration values did not distinguish school locations, whereas schools tended to be near ocean-colour fronts. It concludes that fronts may describe relationships over entire seasons better than ocean-colour values. The paper does not identify its chlorophyll measure as DCHL, so it does not establish the claim specifically for DCHL values or DCHL fronts. (LLM, conf=0.83)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

2 of the 45 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 7

  1. Canny J (1986) A computational approach to edge detection. Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEE). Transactions on pattern analysis and machine intelligence No. 8, IEEE, New York, p 679-698
  2. Demarcq H (1985) Applications de la télédétection infra- rouge et visible en océanographie. PhD thesis, Université Aix-Marseille II
  3. Farrugio H (1981) Exploitation et dynamique des populations de thon rouge, Thunnus thynnus (Linné 1758) Atlanto- Méditerranéennes. PhD thesis, Université des Sciences et Techniques du Languedoc
  4. Fu G, Baith KS, McClain CR (1998) SeaDAS: the SeaWiFS data analysis system. In: Proceedings of the 4th Pacific Ocean Remote Sensing Conference, Qingdao, China, p 73-79
  5. Gardiner CW (1983) Handbook of stochastic processes for physics, chemistry and the natural sciences, Springer- Verlag, Berlin
  6. Hofmann EE, Friedrichs MAM (2001) Models: biogeochemi- cal data assimilation, Academic Press, London
  7. Santos AM (1994) Satellite oceanography applications to the swordfish fishery off Portugal's continental west coast. MSc thesis, University of Lisbon

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Authors
Royer, F., Fromentin, J., & Gaspar, P.
Affiliations
  • Ifremer (FR)
  • Collecte Localisation Satellites (France) (FR)
Corresponding author
Royer, F
ORCID
Gaspar, P
Venue
Marine Ecology Progress Series
Publisher
Inter-Research Science Center
Published
2004
Volume
269
Pages
249-263
ISSN
  • 0171-8630 (ISSN-L)
  • 1616-1599
DOI
10.3354/meps269249
OpenAlex
W2123356726
Cited by
107
References
45
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 5
FWCI
5.47
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Marine Ecology Progress Series (publishedVersion)
  • Institutional Archive of Ifremer (French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
  • University of Dundee
  • Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer
  • Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
  • Goddard Space Flight Center
  • California Sea Grant, University of California, San Diego
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 › Ecology › Marine animal studies overview
Keywords
bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus, spatial aggregation, ocean fronts, eddies, surface fronts, oceanographic features, Gulf of Lion, Western Mediterranean, bio-optical properties, sea surface temperature, point process analysis, spatial autocorrelation, foraging behavior

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