The Salish Sea includes Juan De Fuca Strait, Puget Sound, and the Strait of Georgia
(SoG), which separates Vancouver Island from mainland British Columbia. Hake and herring are
commercially important fish and both species use SoG as larval rearing grounds. Drift tracks of
larvae for these species were simulated using a regional circulation model and a particle-tracking
model, for up to six weeks after they hatch. Larvae with different behaviors (such as surface
drifters or performing diel vertical migration) are traced in the springs of each of the years 2007,
2008, and 2009. Since herring larvae stay in the top 12m, their distribution is heavily influenced
by the wind storms. Strong winds to the north during the hatching period wash herring larvae out
of SoG and lead to poor recruitment later. Alternatively, wind storms blowing to the south help
retain herring larvae in the Salish Sea. Northern and southern parts of SoG are weakly connected
for herring larvae. Hake larvae reside deeper in the water column (50-200m) and the distribution
of the hake larvae released in the central SoG is shaped by a deep gyre with cross-strait currents.
Behavior changes distribution for both types of larvae but there is no single pattern. Behavior
may enhance retention in SoG for the northern herring larvae. This study helps to identify
important herring larvae habitat in the Strait of Georgia.
Supplementary video materials available at: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/43966
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU./43967 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Snauffer, Evgeniya Lyubomirova |
| Publisher | University of British Columbia |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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