Marine Biology

, Volume 162, Issue 5, pp 1019–1031 | Cite as

Evidence of bottom-up limitations in nearshore marine systems based on otolith proxies of fish growth

  • Vanessa R. von Biela
  • Gordon H. Kruse
  • Franz J. Mueter
  • Bryan A. Black
  • David C. Douglas
  • Thomas E. Helser
  • Christian E. Zimmerman
Original Paper
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:

Abstract

Fish otolith growth increments were used as indices of annual production at nine nearshore sites within the Alaska Coastal Current (downwelling region) and California Current (upwelling region) systems (~36–60°N). Black rockfish (Sebastes melanops) and kelp greenling (Hexagrammos decagrammus) were identified as useful indicators in pelagic and benthic nearshore food webs, respectively. To examine the support for bottom-up limitations, common oceanographic indices of production [sea surface temperature (SST), upwelling, and chlorophyll-a concentration] during summer (April–September) were compared to spatial and temporal differences in fish growth using linear mixed models. The relationship between pelagic black rockfish growth and SST was positive in the cooler Alaska Coastal Current and negative in the warmer California Current. These contrasting growth responses to SST among current systems are consistent with the optimal stability window hypothesis in which pelagic production is maximized at intermediate levels of water column stability. Increased growth rates of black rockfish were associated with higher chlorophyll concentrations in the California Current only, but black rockfish growth was unrelated to the upwelling index in either current system. Benthic kelp greenling growth rates were positively associated with warmer temperatures and relaxation of downwelling (upwelling index near zero) in the Alaska Coastal Current, while none of the oceanographic indices were related to their growth in the California Current. Overall, our results are consistent with bottom-up forcing of nearshore marine ecosystems—light and nutrients constrain primary production in pelagic food webs, and temperature constrains benthic food webs.

Keywords

Chlorophyll Concentration Growth Increment Fish Growth California Current Otolith Growth 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Notes

Acknowledgments

This work is part of the Pacific Nearshore Project supported by the U.S. Geological Survey, Ecosystems Mission Area and the Department of the Interior on the Landscape Initiative to investigate biotic response to environmental variation in nearshore habitats of the northeast Pacific Ocean. We thank J. L. Bodkin and the USGS Pacific Nearshore Team for project support, and S. R. Okkonen, G. L. Eckert, and two anonymous reviewers who provided useful comments that improved this manuscript. Any use of trade names or products is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. The findings and conclusions in the paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Marine Fisheries Service. This report was reviewed and approved by the U.S. Geological Survey under their Fundamental Science Practices Policy (http://www.usgs.gov/fsp/).

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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg (outside the USA) 2015

Authors and Affiliations

  • Vanessa R. von Biela
    • 1
    • 2
  • Gordon H. Kruse
    • 2
  • Franz J. Mueter
    • 2
  • Bryan A. Black
    • 3
  • David C. Douglas
    • 1
  • Thomas E. Helser
    • 4
  • Christian E. Zimmerman
    • 1
  1. 1.Alaska Science CenterU.S. Geological SurveyAnchorageUSA
  2. 2.School of Fisheries and Ocean SciencesUniversity of Alaska FairbanksJuneauUSA
  3. 3.Marine Science InstituteUniversity of TexasPort AransasUSA
  4. 4.Alaska Fisheries Science CenterNational Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationSeattleUSA

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