Ocean observatory data are useful for regional habitat modeling of species with different vertical habitat preferences
Marine Ecology Progress Series, (October 2011)DOI: 10.3354/meps09308
Abstract
ABSTRACT: Ocean Observing Systems (OOS) now
provide comprehensive descriptions of the physical
forcing, circulation, primary productivity and water
column properties that subsidize and structure habitats
in the coastal ocean. We used generalized
additive models (GAM) to evaluate the power of OOS
remotely sensed ocean data along with in situ hydrographic
and bottom data to explain distributions of
4 species important in the Mid-Atlantic Bight, USA,
ecosystem that have different vertical habitat preferences.
Our GAMs explained more abundance variation
for pelagic species (longfin inshore squid and
butterfish) than demersal species (spiny dogfish and
summer flounder). Surface fronts and circulation patterns
measured with OOS remote sensing as well as
the rugosity and depth of the bottom were important
for all species. In situ measurements of water column
stability and structure were more useful for modeling
pelagic species. Regardless of vertical habitat preference,
the species were associated with vertical and
horizontal current flows, and/or surface fronts, indicating
that pelagic processes affecting movement costs, prey production and aggregation influenced distributions. Habitat-specific trends in abundance of 3 of the 4 species were well described by our OOSinformed GAMs based upon cross validation tests. Our analyses demonstrate that OOS are operationally useful for regional scale habitat modeling. Regional scale OOS-informed statistical habitat models could serve as bases for tactical ecosystem management and for the development of more sophisticated spatially explicit mechanistic models that couple ontogenic habitats and life history processes to simulate recruitment of organisms important to maintaining the resilience of coastal ecosystems.