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Age-dependent patterns of spatial autocorrelation in fish populations
Jonatan F Marquez1, Bernt-Erik Saether1, Sondre Aanes2
1Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491, Trondheim, Norway.
Ecology
|August 30, 2021
Summary
Spatial autocorrelation in marine fish populations varies with age, impacting abundance patterns. Life history strategies influence these age-specific differences, affecting population dynamics in the Barents Sea.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Population Dynamics
- Marine Biology
Background:
- Spatial autocorrelation influences population fluctuations, affected by dispersal, environmental covariation, and density dependence.
- These ecological processes can change throughout an organism's lifespan, leading to age-specific variations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how spatial autocorrelation in population abundance changes with age in three marine fish species.
- To understand the influence of age structure on spatio-temporal abundance variations.
Main Methods:
- Studied age-dependent spatial autocorrelation in density for cod, beaked redfish, and haddock in the Barents Sea.
- Accounted for local cohort dynamics to differentiate current age-class autocorrelation from carried-over effects.
Main Results:
- Observed significant interspecific differences in age-specific spatial autocorrelation patterns.
- Spatial autocorrelation increased with age in cod, decreased in beaked redfish, and remained constant in haddock.
- Older age classes' spatial patterns were increasingly determined by previous year's cohort distribution, with long-distance autocorrelation noted for all species.
Conclusions:
- Age structure significantly influences spatio-temporal variation in marine fish abundance.
- Differences in life history strategies likely explain the observed variations in age-specific spatial autocorrelation.
- Long-distance autocorrelating processes are present in these Barents Sea fish populations.
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