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Journal article
Overview of BLOOFINZ/INDITUN investigations of the southern bluefin spawning region off northwest Australia, January-March 2022
Deep-sea research. Part II, Topical studies in oceanography, Vol.224, 105564
2025
Abstract
Southern Bluefin Tuna (SBT, Thunnus maccoyii) range broadly in rich feeding grounds of the Southern Hemisphere but spawn only in a small tropical region off northwestern Australia directly downstream of the Indonesian Throughflow. Here, we describe goals, physical context, design and major findings of an end-to-end process study conducted during the peak SBT spawning season (January-March 2022) to understand nutrient sources, productivity, pelagic food web structure and their relationships to larval SBT feeding, growth and survival. Mesoscale variability was investigated by continuous underway measurements of surface waters and station sampling along the cruise track. Biogeochemical and community relationships, process rates, and trophic interactions were determined in four multi-day Lagrangian experiments in the southern Argo Basin. The study revealed strong system balances among nitrogen fluxes, phytoplankton production, grazing processes, and export. Highly selective feeding on appendicularians allows efficient trophic transfer from picophytoplankton-dominated production to SBT larvae. Plankton productivity, phytoplankton carbon and zooplankton biomass were proportionately elevated compared to similar measurement from the Atlantic bluefin larval habitat in the Gulf of Mexico, but with less advective input from the coastal margins. Individual-based otolith and stable isotope analyses identify larvae of low trophic position, narrow diet, and narrow maternal diet as the fastest growers most likely to contribute to stock recruitment. Our study highlights the importance of system-level studies to document and understand the subtleties of how food webs of oligotrophic regions respond to climate change, which may not be predictable from the acquired knowledge of historical studies.
Details
- Title
- Overview of BLOOFINZ/INDITUN investigations of the southern bluefin spawning region off northwest Australia, January-March 2022
- Authors/Creators
- Michael R. Landry - Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Univ. California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USARaúl Laiz-Carrión - Instituto Español de OceanografíaSven A. Kranz - Rice UniversityKaren E. Selph - University of Hawaiʻi at MānoaMichael R. Stukel - Florida State UniversityEstrella Malca - University of MiamiDavid Die - University of MiamiLynnath E. Beckley - Murdoch UniversityMoira Décima - Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Univ. California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USARasmus Swalethorp - Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Univ. California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USAJosé M. Quintanilla - Instituto Español de OceanografíaNatalia Yingling - Florida State UniversityClaire H. Davies - CSIRO EnvironmentClaudia Traboni - Stazione Zoologica Anton DohrnRicardo Borrego-Santos - Instituto Español de OceanografíaJoaquim I. Goes - Columbia UniversityAriana deSouza - Duke UniversityPatricia Romero-Fernández - Instituto Español de OceanografíaM.Granzia Pennino - Institut de Ciències del MarLindsey E. Kim - Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Univ. California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USAOpeyemi Kehinde - Florida State UniversityRobert H. Lampe - Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Univ. California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USAAndrew E. Allen - Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Univ. California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USAThomas B. Kelly - University of Alaska FairbanksBarbara A. Muhling - University of California, Santa CruzShuai Gu - Duke UniversityNicolas Cassar - Duke UniversityManon Laget - Université de LilleTristan Biard - Université de LilleHongbin Liu - Department of Ocean Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong KongKai Hong Io - Department of Ocean Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong KongAkihiro Shiroza - National Research Institute of Fisheries Science, Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, 2-12-4 Fukuura, Kanazawa, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 236-8648, JapanGrace Cawley - Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Univ. California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USAChristian K. Fender - Florida State UniversityJared M. Rose - University of South CarolinaAlejandro Jivanjee - University of MiamiLuke Matisons - UNSW Sydney
- Publication Details
- Deep-sea research. Part II, Topical studies in oceanography, Vol.224, 105564
- Publisher
- Elsevier Ltd.
- Identifiers
- 991005830144307891
- Copyright
- © 2025 The Authors.
- Murdoch Affiliation
- Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Ecosystems
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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