Projects per year
Abstract
Sandeels Ammodytes marinus are a crucial forage fish species in the North Sea, transferring zooplankton energy to higher trophic levels. However, there has been a sustained decline in sandeel abundance in the northwestern North Sea since 2000. Here we use field data to analyze year-to-year changes in A. marinus growth rate between 1997 and 2009 and assess whether variation in growth rate corresponded with variation in abundance. The signature of the reduction in abundance between 2000 and 2009 was a decline in age 1 sandeels, while no other age class declined. Analysis of age-length data showed that the decline in abundance coincided with a period of low growth. Growth performance indexes were correlated with zooplankton and phytoplankton biomass but not temperature. Further, we observed a significant correlation between larval growth rate and 0-group sandeel length during a period when hatch dates were relatively fixed; suggesting recent changes in length were influenced by food availability.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 201 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Frontiers in Marine Science |
Volume | 6 |
Issue number | APR |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 26 Apr 2019 |
Keywords
- North Sea
- sandeels
- growth
- survival
- seabirds
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Trends in sandeel growth and abundance off the east coast of Scotland'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
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Marine Scotland Science - 50% support for PhD studentship on modelling pelagic fish availability
1/10/12 → 30/09/15
Project: Research - Studentship
Research output
- 5 Citations
- 4 Article
-
Timing of sandeel spawning and hatching off the East Coast of Scotland
MacDonald, A., Heath, M. R., Greenstreet, S. P. R. & Speirs, D. C., 6 Mar 2019, In: Frontiers in Marine Science. 6, MAR, 11 p., 70.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Citations (Scopus)37 Downloads (Pure) -
Exploring the influence of food and temperature on North Sea sandeels using a new dynamic energy budget model
MacDonald, A., Speirs, D. C., Greenstreet, S. P. R. & Heath, M. R., 25 Sep 2018, In: Frontiers in Marine Science. 5, 14 p., 339.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile8 Citations (Scopus)24 Downloads (Pure) -
Climate driven trophic cascades affecting seabirds around the British Isles
MacDonald, A., Heath, M., Edwards, M., Furness, R., Pinnegar, J. K., Wanless, S., Speirs, D. & Greenstreet, S., 25 Aug 2015, In: Oceanography and Marine Biology - An Annual Review. 53, p. 55-79 25 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile11 Citations (Scopus)941 Downloads (Pure)