Multiscale assessment of spatial population dynamics of inshore rockfish populations

气候变化、栖息地改变和过度开发是威胁全球海洋种群的主要过程，包括加拿大的海洋种群。 近海岩鱼种群（例如，、细鳞叶蝉S. maliger）在不列颠哥伦比亚省（B.C.）的格鲁吉亚海峡周围的深峡湾海洋生态系统中。可能特别危险，因为这些威胁已经记录在案，而且将来可能会增加。此外，岩鱼的生活史和生态特征在已灭绝或受威胁的海洋物种中很常见。例如，岩鱼寿命长（45-76岁），出生率相对较低，成熟年龄高（12-18岁），定居在深岩礁后流动性低。因此，美国的一些岩鱼种群被认为“濒临灭绝”也就不足为奇了。 我的研究结合了经验和建模方法，以提高对环境变化的人口后果的预测。这份建议书描述了两个具体的实地研究计划，以支持我的长期研究目标。首先，我建议研究当地规模的关系，栖息地的复杂性，人口密度，增长和生存的近岸岩鱼。这些“密度依赖”的过程是核心的岩鱼种群的可持续性，以及我们的能力，以确定必要的鱼类栖息地。我的第二个目标是研究区域规模的连通性，或者说岩鱼种群之间的个体交换。连通性是由栖息地斑块的空间分布，近岸岩鱼幼虫的扩散能力，以及当地的海洋学特征，如电流和食物的可用性。这些因素，除其他外，联合收割机，以确定长期响应近岸岩鱼种群的气候变化。 该建议中的跨学科研究为培养高素质的环境生物学家和未来的资源管理人员提供了理想的机会。我强调实证实地研究和定量分析促进研究生和本科生的学术准备，技术技能，领导能力，后勤规划和执行。

Climate change, habitat alteration, and over-exploitation are the main processes that threaten marine populations world-wide, including those in Canada. Inshore rockfish populations (e.g., Sebastes caurinus, S. maliger) in deep fjord marine ecosystems around the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia (B.C.) may be particularly at-risk because these threats have already been documented and will likely increase in the future. Furthermore, rockfish have life-history and ecological characteristics that are common among extinct, or threatened, marine species. For example, rockfish are long-lived (45-76 yr), have relatively low birthrates, high age-at-maturity (12-18 yr), and low mobility following settlement to deep rocky reefs. It is therefore not surprising that some rockfish populations in the U.S.A. are considered "at risk of extinction". My research combines empirical and modeling approaches to improve predictions of the population consequences of environmental change. This proposal describes two specific field research programs that support my long-term research goals. First, I propose to examine local-scale relationships among habitat complexity, population density, growth, and survival of inshore rockfish. These "density-dependent" processes are central to rockfish population sustainability as well as our ability to determine essential fish habitat. My second objective examines regional-scale connectivity, or the exchange of individuals among rockfish populations. Connectivity is determined by the spatial distribution of habitat patches, the dispersal ability of inshore rockfish larvae, and the local oceanographic features such as currents and food availability. These factors, among others, combine to determine the long-term response of inshore rockfish populations to climate change. The inter-disciplinary research in this proposal offers an ideal opportunity for training highly qualified environmental biologists and future resource managers. My emphasis on empirical field research and quantitative analysis fosters graduate and undergraduate academic preparation, technical skill, leadership, and logistical planning and execution.