Event Title

Spatial variation in mortality among Puget Sound Pacific herring

Presentation Abstract

Pacific herring play a key role in the Puget Sound food web. This ecological role may depend on the maintenance of distinct spawning areas. These spawning areas are affected by drivers at the local- and basin-scale, which likely influence demographic rates such as mortality. Examining spatial differences in mortality may identify drivers and elucidate potential causes of shifts in biomass and age structure. We have developed a simple life history model in which mortality can vary either spatially or temporally. The model has a hierarchical structure in order to: 1) Explicitly estimate the degree of similarity in mortality rates across groups of herring populations and 2) Use available age and biomass data to estimate changes in mortality over time. We estimate high adult mortality rates, which correspond to a pattern of truncated age structure in Puget Sound. Estimated mortality varies spatially, with different mortality in different basins within Puget Sound. While recruitment is often considered the most important driver of herring population dynamics, we hypothesize that the mortality of older adults may play an important role in the population dynamics of herring in Puget Sound.

Session Title

Ecological and cultural context of Pacific herring in the Salish Sea

Conference Track

Species and Food Webs

Conference Name

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2016 : Vancouver, B.C.)

Document Type

Event

Start Date

2016 12:00 AM

End Date

2016 12:00 AM

Location

2016SSEC

Type of Presentation

Oral

Genre/Form

presentations (communicative events)

Contributing Repository

Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.

Subjects – Topical (LCSH)

Pacific herring populations--Spawning--Washington (State)--Puget Sound--Geographical distribution; Pacific herring populations--Mortality--Washington (State)--Puget Sound

Geographic Coverage

Puget Sound (Wash.); Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)

Rights

This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.

Type

Text

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

This document is currently not available here.

COinS
 
Jan 1st, 12:00 AM Jan 1st, 12:00 AM

Spatial variation in mortality among Puget Sound Pacific herring

2016SSEC

Pacific herring play a key role in the Puget Sound food web. This ecological role may depend on the maintenance of distinct spawning areas. These spawning areas are affected by drivers at the local- and basin-scale, which likely influence demographic rates such as mortality. Examining spatial differences in mortality may identify drivers and elucidate potential causes of shifts in biomass and age structure. We have developed a simple life history model in which mortality can vary either spatially or temporally. The model has a hierarchical structure in order to: 1) Explicitly estimate the degree of similarity in mortality rates across groups of herring populations and 2) Use available age and biomass data to estimate changes in mortality over time. We estimate high adult mortality rates, which correspond to a pattern of truncated age structure in Puget Sound. Estimated mortality varies spatially, with different mortality in different basins within Puget Sound. While recruitment is often considered the most important driver of herring population dynamics, we hypothesize that the mortality of older adults may play an important role in the population dynamics of herring in Puget Sound.