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Storage Tags (storage + tag)
Selected AbstractsThermal habitat of striped bass (Morone saxatilis) in coastal waters of northern Massachusetts, USA, during summerFISHERIES OCEANOGRAPHY, Issue 5 2010GARY A. NELSON Abstract Striped bass, Morone saxatilis, were captured and released with temperature-measuring data storage tags in Salem Sound, Massachusetts, to collect data on their thermal preferences in coastal and marine waters and to identify environmental factors that may influence temperatures experienced during their summer residence. Striped bass recaptured during summer of 2006 (21 of 151 releases) experienced a wide range of temperatures (6.5,28.0°C) while at-large for 1,53 days. Overall mean temperature and standard deviation selected by striped bass recaptured in Salem Sound during the longest commonly-shared duration of time (3,12 July) were 17.8 and 3.57°C, respectively. Comparison of temperature data between fish and 13 vertical arrays in Salem Sound revealed that striped bass experienced higher and more variable temperatures, and that daily changes in temperature actually experienced were unrelated to daily changes in surrounding ambient temperature. Regular cyclical changes in temperature of all striped bass and vertical arrays were identified as influences of the local tide, which contributed about a 2°C change in temperature, on average, over the complete cycle. Most striped bass appeared to limit their activities to depths shallower than the lower limit of the thermocline, above which temperatures generally exceed 9.0°C in Salem Sound. Therefore, it is likely that the vertical distribution of striped bass is restricted by the low temperatures below this depth. An implication of this finding is that the spatial distribution of striped bass may be defined coarsely by knowledge of the distribution of temperature in coastal areas. [source] Geolocation of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) movements in the Gulf of Maine using tidal informationFISHERIES OCEANOGRAPHY, Issue 4 2007J. P. GRÖGER Abstract Information derived from archival tags (digital storage tags, DSTs) were used to backtrack the migration of 11 tagged Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) during 2001 in Massachusetts Bay, the Gulf of Maine, and Georges Bank. The DST tags continuously recorded time, temperature and depth. To geolocate fish positions during its time at large, we first extracted the tidal signal from the pressure recordings on the DST tags, and then compared the resulting data to data predicted with a Massachusetts Bay tidal model that provided us with geographical coordinates at a given date and time. Using least-squares criteria within an estimated geographical region of confidence that was constrained by biological and statistical information (e.g. swimming speed, known release and recapture location, and bottom depth) we were able to geolocate the fish. The resultant geolocated migration tracks indicate a large degree of movement of Atlantic cod in the region and an elevated importance of the Great South Channel (GSC) migration corridor between Massachusetts Bay and the western Georges Bank and Nantucket Shoals region. This observation contrasts strongly with inferences of limited movements by Atlantic cod based on conventional tag recapture methods (mean of 1200 km traveled versus 44 km traveled as measured by conventional tagging and geolocation, respectively). This study demonstrates that geolocation methodologies applied to archival tag studies hold great promise of becoming an important new tool for fisheries managers to quantify the movements of fishes. It also points out the need for greater collaboration between fisheries scientists and oceanographers, and particularly for the development of improved tidal models to cover stock regions more accurately and with higher precision. [source] Thermal habitat experienced by Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) kelts in coastal Newfoundland watersFISHERIES OCEANOGRAPHY, Issue 1 2004David G. Reddin Abstract Thermal habitat was recorded by data storage tags (DSTs) applied to Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) kelts during their seaward migration in the spring of 1998 at enumeration facilities in Highlands River, Humber River, Western Arm Brook, and Campbellton River, Newfoundland. In total, 139 DSTs were applied and data were downloaded from eleven of the recovered tags. The recovered tags had been applied at Highlands, Campbellton and Western Arm rivers and recovered in the coastal waters of Newfoundland and Québec and at the enumeration facilities at Highlands and Campbellton rivers. Water temperatures experienced by the fish were recorded for periods of 62,118 days at resolutions of 15,30 min. The data from the sea record on the DSTs were analysed for temperature patterns in relation to migration behaviour and diurnal movement of the fish. A variety of patterns were exhibited on the temperature records suggesting that the fish were behaving in various ways at different times. For Campbellton and Highlands fish over the course of some 24 h periods, night-time temperatures changed little and were among the highest daily temperatures experienced by the fish, whereas daytime temperatures often showed dramatic and frequent shifts in temperature presumably as the fish rapidly and frequently changed depth. For the Western Arm Brook fish, rapid fluctuations in temperature occurred sometimes during the day and night without a consistent diurnal pattern. We also considered large-scale aspects of the data by examining oceanographic conditions in relation to the temperatures recorded by the tags. [source] Individual-based models of cod movement and population dynamicsJOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, Issue 2003H. J. Edwards Many fish species undergo seasonal changes in distribution, as a result of horizontal migrations between feeding, nursery and spawning grounds. Exploring the processes involved in these movements may be the key to understanding interactions with other species, man and the environment, and is therefore crucial to effective fisheries management. Recent tagging experiments providing information on the distribution of migratory fish stocks have indicated pronounced regional and temporal differences in the migratory behaviour of cod, suggesting complex interactions between this commercially important fish species and the environment. This paper presents a model of the horizontal movements of demersal fish, principally cod, using an individual-based modelling approach to explore and predict the relationship between demersal fish movements and key environmental and ecological factors. The model simulates the basic biological processes of growth, movement and mortality, and is driven by the analysis of physical tagging data recorded by electronic data storage tags (DSTs). Results show that the incorporation of behavioural data from DSTs into spatially explicit individual-based models can provide realistic simulations of large-scale fish stocks, thus giving a better understanding of their basic ecology and allowing more effective management of commercially important fish species. Possibilities of future improvements and extensions to the model are discussed. [source] |