Larval transport during winter in the SABRE study area: results of a coupled vertical larval behaviour–three‐dimensional circulation model

Abstract

A three‐dimensional circulation model was used in conjunction with larval fish vertical behaviour models to study the interaction between larval vertical distribution, advection and the outcome of larval transport along the central portion of the east coast of the United States. The circulation model was forced by tides, a northern boundary inflow, and winds. Vertical behaviour models were developed for Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) and spot (Leiostomus xanthurus). The purpose of this modelling effort was to investigate the transport pathways of Atlantic menhaden and spot larvae from offshore spawning grounds to estuarine nursery habitats. The coupled circulation and behavioural model demonstrated the importance of along‐shelf transport in what is generally thought to be a ‘cross‐shelf’ problem. Cross‐shelf transport was associated with bathymetric features, such as shoals. Both physical (e.g. wind) and biological (e.g. changes in larval behaviour) events were responsible for many of the observed patterns in larval transport. Overall, larval transport was determined by circulation but was modified by larval vertical distributions.