Habitat Suitability Modeling to Identify the Potential Nursery Grounds of the Atlantic Mackerel and Its Relation to Oceanographic Conditions in the Mediterranean Sea
Authors
Giannoulaki, M. (Marianna); Pyrounaki, M.M. (Maria M.); Bourdeix, J.H. (Jean-Herve); Abdallah, L.B. (Lotfi Ben); Bonanno, A. (Angelo); Basilone, G. (Gualtiero); Iglesias, M. (Magdalena); Ventero, A. (Ana); De-Felice, A. (Andrea); Leonori, I. (Iole); Valavanis, V.D. (Vasilis D.); Machias, A. (Athanassios); Saraux, C. (Claire)Editor/s
Keskin, C. (Çetin)Date
2017-07-26Type
articleKeywords
habitat suitability modelingAtlantic mackerel
nursery grounds
Mediterranean Sea
generalized
additive models
acoustic surveys
Abstract
Our knowledge for the distribution of Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) in the Mediterranean Sea is limited and fragmented. In the current work habitat suitability modeling was applied to summer acoustic surveys data of Atlantic mackerel juveniles derived from the north part of the Mediterranean (i.e., acoustic data from the Gulf of Lions, pelagic trawls held during acoustic surveys in Spanish Mediterranean waters, south Adriatic Sea, Strait of Sicily, and North Aegean Sea) using generalized additive models (GAMs) along with satellite environmental and bathymetry data. Bathymetry along with sea surface temperature and circulation patterns, expressed through sea level anomaly and the zonal component of the absolute geostrophic velocity, were the environmental variables best to describe nursery grounds. The selected model was used to produce maps presenting the potential nursery grounds of Atlantic mackerel throughout the Mediterranean Sea as a measure of habitat adequacy. However, the ...
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