Forage Species Swarm in Response to Coastal Upwelling

Abstract We observed the distribution and identity of forage species to infer behavioral changes in response to intraseasonal variation in the coastal upwelling ecosystem of Monterey Bay, California. While the biomass of forage species remained comparable, the small‐scale distribution of krill and a...

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Main Authors: Kelly. J. Benoit‐Bird, Chad. M. Waluk, John P. Ryan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2019-02-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL081603
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author Kelly. J. Benoit‐Bird
Chad. M. Waluk
John P. Ryan
author_facet Kelly. J. Benoit‐Bird
Chad. M. Waluk
John P. Ryan
author_sort Kelly. J. Benoit‐Bird
collection DOAJ
description Abstract We observed the distribution and identity of forage species to infer behavioral changes in response to intraseasonal variation in the coastal upwelling ecosystem of Monterey Bay, California. While the biomass of forage species remained comparable, the small‐scale distribution of krill and anchovies was strongly affected by upwelling conditions. When regional upwelling influences were strong in the Bay, both species formed numerous discrete swarms and schools. During relaxation, both species were more diffusely distributed. Rather than gross changes in spatial distribution, a process that could take a long time for these relatively small animals, forage species responded to the short time scale dynamics that occur between days in the upwelling season with changes in their aggregative behavior. The behavioral responses observed highlight the need to study within‐season dynamics in upwelling systems in addition to their cumulative influence in order to understand the ecological processes of these productive systems.
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series Geophysical Research Letters
spelling doaj-art-e9b7f4147912433aa4f86bc42ab900d92025-08-20T01:51:45ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072019-02-014631537154610.1029/2018GL081603Forage Species Swarm in Response to Coastal UpwellingKelly. J. Benoit‐Bird0Chad. M. Waluk1John P. Ryan2Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute Moss Landing CA USAMonterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute Moss Landing CA USAMonterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute Moss Landing CA USAAbstract We observed the distribution and identity of forage species to infer behavioral changes in response to intraseasonal variation in the coastal upwelling ecosystem of Monterey Bay, California. While the biomass of forage species remained comparable, the small‐scale distribution of krill and anchovies was strongly affected by upwelling conditions. When regional upwelling influences were strong in the Bay, both species formed numerous discrete swarms and schools. During relaxation, both species were more diffusely distributed. Rather than gross changes in spatial distribution, a process that could take a long time for these relatively small animals, forage species responded to the short time scale dynamics that occur between days in the upwelling season with changes in their aggregative behavior. The behavioral responses observed highlight the need to study within‐season dynamics in upwelling systems in addition to their cumulative influence in order to understand the ecological processes of these productive systems.https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL081603coastal upwellingforage speciesbehaviorswarming
spellingShingle Kelly. J. Benoit‐Bird
Chad. M. Waluk
John P. Ryan
Forage Species Swarm in Response to Coastal Upwelling
Geophysical Research Letters
coastal upwelling
forage species
behavior
swarming
title Forage Species Swarm in Response to Coastal Upwelling
title_full Forage Species Swarm in Response to Coastal Upwelling
title_fullStr Forage Species Swarm in Response to Coastal Upwelling
title_full_unstemmed Forage Species Swarm in Response to Coastal Upwelling
title_short Forage Species Swarm in Response to Coastal Upwelling
title_sort forage species swarm in response to coastal upwelling
topic coastal upwelling
forage species
behavior
swarming
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL081603
work_keys_str_mv AT kellyjbenoitbird foragespeciesswarminresponsetocoastalupwelling
AT chadmwaluk foragespeciesswarminresponsetocoastalupwelling
AT johnpryan foragespeciesswarminresponsetocoastalupwelling