Abstract
Primary environmental variables, such as sea surface temperature, wind speed, and chlorophyll, have been used widely in a variety of studies by biological oceanographers to explore the relationship between and, say, distribution and abundance of marine organisms. Fisheries scientists in particular have explored a range of relationships between physics and catch data to understand fish distribution and fishing impacts. The explanatory power of models based on such primary variables is typically limited and may not lead to insight into mechanisms behind the environmental associations. Variables that are more direct measures of habitat, such as thermal fronts, upwelling zones, eddies, and water column descriptors (e.g., mixed layer depth), may yield additional explanatory power. We have developed a suite of these derived variables and demonstrate their utility using examples from Australian fisheries and marine spatial planning. Refinement and access to derived variables may be useful in a range of applications, including catch standardization, habitat prediction, ecosystem models, spatial management, and harvest strategies, and will play an important role in the emerging area of dynamic ocean management.
Highlights
With increasing pressure on ocean resources from a range of extractive and nonextractive uses (e.g., Worm et al 2006; Merrie et al, 2014), the need for more effective management policies and options is only growing stronger (Gjerde et al, 2013; Maury et al, 2013; Ban et al, 2014)
We have developed a suite of these derived variables and demonstrate their utility using examples from Australian fisheries and marine spatial planning
Pelagic species can be passively concentrated in the early stages of their life histories, and they actively aggregate in particular ocean regions at other stages to feed, mate, or migrate (Bakun, 2006; Ritz et al, 2011)
Summary
With increasing pressure on ocean resources from a range of extractive and nonextractive uses (e.g., Worm et al 2006; Merrie et al, 2014), the need for more effective management policies and options is only growing stronger (Gjerde et al, 2013; Maury et al, 2013; Ban et al, 2014). Refinement and access to derived variables may be useful in a range of applications, including catch standardization, habitat prediction, ecosystem models, spatial management, and harvest strategies, and will play an important role in the emerging area of dynamic ocean management.
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