Dataset Information

Hydrodynamic controls on connectivity of the high commercial value shrimp Parapenaeus longirostris (Lucas, 1846) in the Mediterranean Sea.

ABSTRACT: In the Strait of Sicily (SoS), a wide passage of the Mediterranean Sea, Parapenaeus longirostris, (Lucas, 1846; DPS hereafter) is the main target species of trawl fisheries, with an estimated annual market value of about 80 million euro. The exploitation of this resource is shared between Italian, Tunisian and Maltese bottom trawlers and its management raises social, economic and environmental interests. Recent stock assessment revealed high fishing mortalities and low size at first capture, thus promoting the adoption of a strategic plan for a sustainable management. However, the current knowledge of the geographical boundaries of the stock, supporting the implementation of such management plan is still poor. In this respect, under different hydrodynamic regimes, particle-tracking modelling was used to explore connectivity between both, known and unexplored, spawning and nursery areas of DPS in the SoS. Ensembles scenarios derived by model outcomes displayed decadal changes in connectivity between spawning and nursery areas in the north side of the SoS, hence confirming the presence of a single stock in this area. Expanding the area of investigation, the model results showed weak connectivity between spawning ground in the north side of SoS and nurseries on the African shelf-break. This method could support the spatial management of the stock, such as the protection of the nursery and spawning areas, by providing estimates of how connectivity is influenced by hydrodynamic regimes at different temporal and spatial scales.

SUBMITTER: Quattrocchi G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6858437 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Hydrodynamic controls on connectivity of the high commercial value shrimp Parapenaeus longirostris (Lucas, 1846) in the Mediterranean Sea.

Quattrocchi Giovanni G Sinerchia Matteo M Colloca Francesco F Fiorentino Fabio F Garofalo Germana G Cucco Andrea A

Scientific reports 20191115 1

In the Strait of Sicily (SoS), a wide passage of the Mediterranean Sea, Parapenaeus longirostris, (Lucas, 1846; DPS hereafter) is the main target species of trawl fisheries, with an estimated annual market value of about 80 million euro. The exploitation of this resource is shared between Italian, Tunisian and Maltese bottom trawlers and its management raises social, economic and environmental interests. Recent stock assessment revealed high fishing mortalities and low size at first capture, thu ...[more]

PMID: 31729439

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Project description:Information on the buoyancy of eggs and larvae from deep-sea species is rare but necessary for explaining the position of non-swimming larvae in the water column. Due to embryonic morphology and ecology diversities, egg buoyancy has important variations within one species and among other ones. Nevertheless, it has hardly been explored if this buoyancy variability can be a strategy for deep-sea larvae to optimize their transport beyond their spawning areas. In the northwestern Mediterranean Sea, protozoea and mysis larvae of the commercial deep-sea shrimp Aristeus antennatus were recently found in upper layers, but to present, earlier stages like eggs and nauplii have not been collected. Using a Lagrangian transport model and larval characteristics, we evaluate the buoyancy and hydrodynamic effects on the transport of A. antennatus' larvae in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. The transport models suggested that 75% of buoyant eggs released between 500 and 800 m depth (i.e., known spawning area), reached the upper water layers (0-75 m depth). Then, according to the modeled larval drifts, three spawning regions were defined in the studied area: 1) the northern part, along a continental margin crossed by large submarine canyons; 2) the central part, with two circular circulation structures (i.e., eddies); and 3) the southern part, with currents flowing through a channel. The number of larvae in the most upper layer (0-5 m depth) was higher if the larval transport model accounted for the ascent of eggs and nauplii (81%) instead of eggs reaching the surface before hatching (50%). The larvae reaching the most water upper layer (0-5 m depth) had higher rates of dispersal than the ones transported below the surface layer (deeper than 5 m depth). The results of larval dispersal simulations have implications for the understanding of A. antennatus larval ecology and for management decisions related to the shrimp fisheries in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea.

Dataset Information

Hydrodynamic controls on connectivity of the high commercial value shrimp Parapenaeus longirostris (Lucas, 1846) in the Mediterranean Sea.

Publications

Hydrodynamic controls on connectivity of the high commercial value shrimp Parapenaeus longirostris (Lucas, 1846) in the Mediterranean Sea.

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