A Flood Tidal Transport for Pink Shrimp Larvae on the SW Florida Shelf Maria M. Criales 1, Joan A. Browder 2 and Michael B. Robblee 3 1 2 3
Collaborators UM/RSMAS: C. Mooers, J. Wang, B. Haus, H. Peters, T. Lee, J. Martinez, L. Cherubin, C. Paris NOAA/AOLM: P. Ortner, L. Johns, N. Melo HBOI: N. Smith UM/CIMAS-NOAA/NMFSC- USGS: Thomas Jackson, Hernando Cardenas, Jeremy Hall, Destiny Hazra, Joe Contillo, Andre Daniels
Connectivity among stages and habitats Recruitment variability
Pathways of larval migration
Offshore-onshore onshore circulation Subtidal currents (N-S) SWF shelf Subtidal currents are weak and mainly alongshore Tidal Currents (E-W) M 2 Tidal currents are strong in the E-W component
Influx of postlarvae into Florida Bay 35 3 NW Florida Bay stations Two different influx patterns Postlarvae* 1 m -3 25 2 15 1 5 MG1 MG2 SK1 SK2 CH1 CH2 JFMAMJ/ JASONDJFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASOND J/FMAMJJASOND Highest concentrations at the NW border DT 2 21 22 23 Postlarvae* 1 m -3 23 22 21 2 2 1 Florida Keys stations PH1 PH2 WH1 WH2 IK1 IK2 A feasible transport mechanism across the SWF shelf JFMAMJ/JJASONDJFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASOND J/ FMAMJJASOND 2 21 22 23 Criales et al. (26, FB)
Transport and behavior on the SWF Shelf Dry Tortugas Marquesas Onshore 31 Depth (m) -5-1 -15-2 -25 Depth (m) -5-1 -15 Depth (m) -2-4 -6 3 29 28 27 26 25-3 July 2-3, 24-2 July 3-4, 24-8 July 4-5, 24 24
Cross-shelf shelf temperature and larval concentrations Depth (m) DT MQ ON -1-2 -3-16 -14-12 -1-8 -6-4 -2 Distance Offshore (km) oc 3 28 26 24 Wind stress (dyne cm-2).6.3. -.3 -.6 -.9 Winds Wind stress - DT CMAN station tx ty 15 16 17 18 19 2 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 June 15 - July 7 (days) SE winds do not favor onshore Ekman transport Large scale offshore forces, intrusions of the Loop current or eddies
Currents at MQ Station E-W current (cm*s -1 ) N-S current (cm*s -1 ) Depth (m) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 17 19 21 23 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15-6 -4-2 2 4 July 3-4, 24 (h) Depth (m) 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 17 19 21 23 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15-6 -4-2 2 4 July 3-4, 24 (h)
Temperature, salinity and density Marquesas, July 3-4, 24 Temperature Salinity Density -2-2 -2-4 -4-4 -6-6 -6 Depth (m) -8-1 -12-8 -1-12 -8-1 -12-14 -14-14 -16-16 -16-18 -18-18 -2 From 17:3h to 15:3h -2 From 17:3h to 15:3h -2 From 17:3hto 15:3h Density, shear and Richardson numbers Depth (m) 5 1 15 2. -.1 -.2 Density gradient (kg m -3 ) (du/dz) 2 (dv/dz) 2 1 2 3 4..5 1. 1.5 2. Current shear (1-4 s -2 Richardson numbers )
Linear internal tides (LIT) A shallow thermocline with strong density gradients and high frequency motions of ~ 12 h Strong vertical shear, vertical turbulent mixing High concentration of larvae at the shallow thermocline LIT don t contribute to onshore transport but convergent current may concentrate larvae at the upper layer Non-linear internal tides or bores on the SEF shelf: Leichter et al. (23, 25, 26), Davis et al. (28)
Vertical distribution and behavior Protozoeae Myses Postlarvae Depth (m) -5 1 2-1 3 4 5 6-15 7 8-5 5 1-1 15 2 25-15 -5-1 -15 2 4 6 8 1 12-2 4 8 12 16 2 24-2 4 8 12 16 2 24-2 4 8 12 16 2 24 July 3-4, 24 July 3-4,24 July 3-4, 24 Ontogenetic vertical migrations
Larval concentrations, fluxes and onshore transport Protozoeae Myses Postlarvae Cur spd (cm s -1 ) 6 3-3 -6 current spd @ 5m Proto*1 3 m -3 @5m 12 8 4 current spd @ 5m myses*1 3 m -3 @5m 3 2 1 current spd @ 5m post*1 3 m -3 @5m 16 12 8 4 Physical Multiple Cumulative R2 F P variables R R2 Cross-shelf current (E-W).8.64.64 17.68.1** Water temperature.87.75.11 3.97.78 Water density.89.79.4 1.55.248 Larval flux (l * 1 m -2 s -1 ) 6 3-3 -6 17192123 1 3 5 7 9 111315 (+) onshore (-) offshore 17192123 1 3 5 7 9 111315 17192123 1 3 5 7 9 111315 July 3-4, 24 (h)
Vertical migrations synchronized with the tides Larval peaks occurring at the upper layer with a semidiurnal periodicity Larval concentrations highly correlated with the E- W current Positive larval fluxes during flood tidal periods Evidence of a Flood Tidal Transport (FTT) a type of STST for myses and postlarvae at ~ 8 km from nursery grounds Criales et al. (27, MEPS)
FTT at the entrance to nursery grounds F F F E E
FTT on the inner SWF shelf F F F E E
Salinity and turbulence are the most likely environmental factors associated with the FTT behavior The inner SWF shelf dominated by tidal currents and affected by freshwater sources may behave as an estuary where larvae may easily recognize tides Salinity changes on the natural ecosystem may have negative effect on migration of larvae Johns et al.noaa/aolm
Modeling larval transport What are the main factors affecting recruitment success? What is transport like during the first days of development? Is FTT the dominant onshore transport? What is the origin of the anomalous water near MQ?
Conclusions and current research Pink shrimp larvae enter Florida Bay in much larger numbers through its NW border than through the FK channels Uplifted cool waters detected near MQ may be associated with offshore oceanographic forces Linear internal tides were observed at a shallow thermocline near MQ Pink shrimp larvae were highly concentrated in the shallow thermocline at MQ; convergent currents associated with internal tides may contribute to it
A FTT involving tidal currents and behavior was evident for pink shrimp late stages on the SWF shelf 8 km from nursery grounds constituting the first record of this behavior outside an estuary for decapod larvae This potential cross-shelf transport may be used by other estuarine organisms that migrate to Florida Bay using a tidal behavior A biophysical Lagrangian model including tides, freshwater discharges and larval behavior is being developed to provide police makers more detailed information about interconnections between behavior, local, meso and large scale processes.
Thanks!!! Funding: NOAA- South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Prediction and Modeling Program (SFERPM) Cruise: R/V Gandy crew, C. Schroeder, W. Gandy, J. Schultz, W. Hoggard (NOAA-Pascagoula Lab) ADCP-data analysis: NOAA- AOML-Miami: S. Cummings, J. Stamates, J. Martinez Logistics: Everglades National Park, USGS, Florida Keys National Park