Temporal variations of food web in a marine bay ecosystem based on LIM-MCMC model

Climate change has led to significant fluctuations in marine ecosystems,including alterations in the structure and function of food webs and ecosystem status.Coastal ecosystems are critical to the functioning of the earth’s lifesupporting systems.However,temporal variations in most of these ecosystems have remained unclear so far.In this study,we employed a linear inverse model with Markov Chain Monte Carlo(LIM-MCMC)combined with ecological network analysis to reveal the temporal variations of the food web in Haizhou Bay of China.Food webs were constructed based on diet composition data in this ecosystem during the year of 2011 and 2018.Results indicated that there were obvious temporal variations in the composition of food webs in autumn of 2011 and 2018.The number of prey and predators for most species in food web decreased in 2018 compared with 2011,especially for Trichiurus lepturus,zooplankton,Amblychaeturichthys hexanema,and Loligo sp.Ecological network analysis showed that the complexity of food web structure could be reflected by comprehensive analysis of compartmentalized indicators.Haizhou Bay ecosystem was more mature and stable in 2011,while the ecosystem’s self-sustainability and recovery from disturbances were accelerated from 2011 to 2018.These findings contribute to our understanding of the dynamics of marine ecosystems and highlight the importance of comprehensive analysis of marine food webs.This work provides a framework for assessing and comparing temporal variations in marine ecosystems,which provides essential information and scientific guidance for the Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management.

Reactive template-derived interfacial engineering of CoP/CoO heterostructured porous nanotubes towards superior electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution

The development of economical,efficient,and robust electrocatalysts toward the hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)is highly imperative for the rapid advancement of renewable H2 energy-associated technologies.Extensive utilization of the heterointerface effect can endow the catalysts with remarkably boosted electrocatalytic performance due to the modified electronic state of active sites.Herein,we demonstrate deliberate crafting of CoP/CoO heterojunction porous nanotubes(abbreviated as CoP/CoO PNTs hereafter)using a self-sacrificial template-engaged strategy.Precise control over the Kirkendall diffusion process of the presynthesized cobalt–aspartic acid complex nanowires is indispensable for the formation of CoP/CoO heterostructures.The topochemical transformation strategy of the reactive templates enables uniform and maximized construction of CoP/CoO heterojunctions throughout all the porous nanotubes.The establishment of CoP/CoO heterojunctions could considerably modify the electronic configuration of the active sites and also improve the electric conductivity,which endows the resultant CoP/CoO PNTs with enhanced intrinsic activity.Simultaneously,the hollow and porous nanotube architectures allow sufficient accessibility of exterior/interior surfaces and molecular permeability,drastically promoting the reaction kinetics.Consequently,when used as HER electrocatalysts,the well-designed CoP/CoO PNTs show Pt-like activity,with an overpotential of only 61 mV at 10mA cm^(−2) and excellent stability in 1.0M KOH medium,exceeding those of the vast majority of the previously reported nonprecious candidates.Density functional theory calculations further substantiate that the construction of CoP/CoO heterojunctions enables optimization of the Gibbs free energies for water adsorption and H adsorption,resulting in boosted HER intrinsic activity.The present study may provide in-depth insights into the fundamental mechanisms of heterojunction-induced electronic regulation,which may pave the way for the rational design of advanced Earth-abundant electrocatalysts in the future.

Impacts of species depletion on the food web structure of a marine ecosystem based on topological network analysis

Single-species management ignores the interactions between species,and ecosystem-based fisheries management(EBFM)has become a main method to fisheries management.Understanding food web structures and species interactions is essential for the implementation of EBFM and maintenance of ecosystem functions.Overfishing is one of the main reasons behind the depletion,which could even lead to the depletion of some target species in local areas.So understanding the impacts of species depletion on food web structures is important for the implementation of EBFM.The impacts of species depletion can be transmitted through the food web and cause the local extinction of both target and non-target species.In this study,topological network analysis was applied to examine the impacts of species depletion on the food web structure of Haizhou Bay.Results showed that fine crayfish Leptochela gracilis,squid Loligo sp.,and Japanese snapping shrimp Alpheus japonicus have the highest numbers of outgoing links(48,32 and 31 respectively);thus,these species may be considered key prey species.Whitespotted conger Conger myriaster,fat greenling Hexagrammos otakii,and bluefin gurnard Chelidonichthys kumu were key predators with the highest number of incoming links(37,36 and 35 respectively).The competition graphs derived from the Haizhou Bay food web were highly connected(more than 40%predators sharing over 10 common prey species),and showed close trophic interaction between high trophic level fishes.Simulation analysis showed that the food web structure has small changes to the depletion of species in a highly complex food web.The most-connected target species did not necessarily indicate high structural importance;however,some species with low connectivity may demonstrate stronger trophic interactions and play important ecological roles in the food web.But most species were more sensitive to the depletion of the most-connected target species than other target species(for instance,for zooplankton,closeness centrality 13.876 in D6,but closeness centrality 82.143 in original food web).Therefore,EBFM should focus on the most-connected target species,but also on those species with few but strong links and feeding relationships in the food web.

Optimization of environmental variables in habitat suitability modeling for mantis shrimp Oratosquilla oratoria in the Haizhou Bay and adjacent waters

Habitat suitability index(HSI)models have been widely used to analyze the relationship between species abundance and environmental factors,and ultimately inform management of marine species.The response of species abundance to each environmental variable is different and habitat requirements may change over life history stages and seasons.Therefore,it is necessary to determine the optimal combination of environmental variables in HSI modelling.In this study,generalized additive models(GAMs)were used to determine which environmental variables to be included in the HSI models.Significant variables were retained and weighted in the HSI model according to their relative contribution(%)to the total deviation explained by the boosted regression tree(BRT).The HSI models were applied to evaluate the habitat suitability of mantis shrimp Oratosquilla oratoria in the Haizhou Bay and adjacent areas in 2011 and 2013–2017.Ontogenetic and seasonal variations in HSI models of mantis shrimp were also examined.Among the four models(non-optimized model,BRT informed HSI model,GAM informed HSI model,and both BRT and GAM informed HSI model),both BRT and GAM informed HSI model showed the best performance.Four environmental variables(bottom temperature,depth,distance offshore and sediment type)were selected in the HSI models for four groups(spring-juvenile,spring-adult,falljuvenile and fall-adult)of mantis shrimp.The distribution of habitat suitability showed similar patterns between juveniles and adults,but obvious seasonal variations were observed.This study suggests that the process of optimizing environmental variables in HSI models improves the performance of HSI models,and this optimization strategy could be extended to other marine organisms to enhance the understanding of the habitat suitability of target species.

Fishery biology of whitespotted conger Conger myriaster(Brevoort, 1856) in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea

Whitespotted conger Conger myriaster is a commercially important species in the seas around China, Korea and Japan. The coastal waters of China serve as an important feeding ground for congers, but the spatio-temporal variations in the fishery and biological characteristics of the population have been rarely evaluated and less well understood in this area. We studied the growth, spawning and feeding characteristics of C. myriaster on the basis of samples collected from October 2016 to April 2017 in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea. A total of 529 specimens were collected, with ages ranging from 1 to 6 years and total length ranging from 132 mm to 834 mm. The parameters of von Bertalanffy growth equation L∞ and k were 1 026 mm and 0.226 a^–1, respectively;the sex ratio was 88:0 (female: male) in the East China Sea and 2.67:1 in the South Yellow Sea;the development stage of ovary ranged from peri-nucleolus stage to secondary yolk globule stage, and the testis of two males was at midmeiotic stage;Crustacean was the major prey for conger of small length, and food source shift to fish with somatic growth. The results showed substantial differences from previous studies in Japan and Korean waters, as well as from China seas in the 1980s, suggesting potential spatiotemporal changes in the biological characteristics of C. myriaster. This study may improve current understanding of the fishery biology of C. myriaster in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea.

Population dynamics modelling with spatial heterogeneity for yellow croaker(Larimichthys polyactis)along the coast of China

As one of the top four commercially important species in China,yellow croaker(Larimichthys polyactis)with two geographic subpopulations,has undergone profound changes during the last several decades.It is widely comprehended that understanding its population dynamics is critically important for sustainable management of this valuable fishery in China.The only two existing population dynamics models assessed the population of yellow croaker using short time-series data,without considering geographical variations.In this study,Bayesian models with and without hierarchical subpopulation structure were developed to explore the spatial heterogeneity of the population dynamics of yellow croaker from 1968 to 2015.Alternative hypotheses were constructed to test potential temporal patterns in yellow croaker’s population dynamics.Substantial variations in population dynamics characteristics among space and time were found through this study.The population growth rate was revealed to increase since the late 1980s,and the catchability increased more than twice from 1981 to 2015.The East China Sea’s subpopulation witnesses faster growth,but suffers from higher fishing pressure than that in the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea.The global population and two subpopulations all have high risks of overfishing and being overfished according to the MSY-based reference points in recent years.More conservative management strategies with subpopulation considerations are imperative for the fishery management of yellow croaker in China.The methodology developed in this study could also be applied to the stock assessment and fishery management of other species,especially for those species with large spatial heterogeneity data.

Spatio-temporal distribution of Konosirus punctatus spawning and nursing ground in the South Yellow Sea

In recent years,Konosirus punctatus has accounted for a large portion in catch composition and become important economic species in the South Yellow Sea.However,the distribution of K.punctatus early life stages is still poorly understood.In this study,generalized additive models with Tweedie distribution were used to analyze the relationships between K.punctatus ichthyoplankton and environmental factors(longitude and latitude,sea surface temperature(SST),sea surface salinity(SSS)and depth),and predict distribution K.punctatus spawning ground and nursing ground,based on samplings collected in 6 months during 2014–2017.The results showed that K.punctatus’spawning ground were mainly distributed in central and north study area(from 33.0°N to 37.0°N).By comparison,the nursing ground shifted southward,which were approximately located along central and south coast of study area(from 31.7°N to 35.5°N).The optimal models identified that suitable SST,SSS and depth for eggs were 19–26℃,25–30 and 9–23 m,respectively.The suitable SSS for larvae were 29–31.The K.punctatus spawning habit might have changed in the past decades,which was a response to increasing SST and fishing pressure.That needs to be proved in further study.The study provides references of conservation and exploitation for K.punctatus.

Impacts of sample size for stomach content analysis on the estimation of ecosystem indices

This study used Ecopath model of the Jiaozhou Bay as an example to evaluate the effect of stomach sample size of three fish species on the projection of this model. The derived ecosystem indices were classified into three categories:(1) direct indices, like the trophic level of species, influenced by stomach sample size directly;(2)indirect indices, like ecology efficiency(EE) of invertebrates, influenced by the multiple prey-predator relationships;and(3) systemic indices, like total system throughout(TST), describing the status of the whole ecosystem. The influences of different stomach sample sizes on these indices were evaluated. The results suggest that systemic indices of the ecosystem model were robust to stomach sample sizes, whereas specific indices related to species were indicated to be with low accuracy and precision when stomach samples were insufficient.The indices became more uncertain when the stomach sample sizes varied for more species. This study enhances the understanding of how the quality of diet composition data influences ecosystem modeling outputs. The results can also guide the design of stomach content analysis for developing ecosystem models.

Evaluating impacts of pulse fishing on the effectiveness of seasonal closure

Seasonal fishing closures are often used in fisheries management to conserve overfished stocks.As one of the unintended consequences,fishermen often contend for maximizing catches immediately after reopening fisheries.The resultant large catch landings in a short time period(i.e.,pulse fishing)may undermine the benefit of closure.We implemented an end-to-end model OSMOSE-JZB(Object-oriented Simulator of Marine ec OSystem Exploitation OSMOSE)modelling ecosystem in the Jiaozhou Bay located in China to evaluate the impact of pulse fishing on the effectiveness of seasonal closure at levels of fish community,population,and individual.Our study demonstrated that the three-month closure was successful in conserving fish stocks.There were small variations on ecological indicators(i.e.,total biomass of the community,mean trophic level of the community,mean trophic level of the catch,and Shannon-Wiener biodiversity index)when pulse fishing occurred.Pulse fishing seemed not to result in a great shift in community structure.Compared to other species,the biomass of two large predatory fishes were more susceptible to pulse fishing.Pulse fishing could change the pressure of predators to fish stocks via food webs,especially for young individuals.Our simulations indicate that we can improve the effectiveness of seasonal closure by managing pulse fishing.Although the results derived in this study may be specific to the target ecosystem,the general approach is applicable to other ecosystems when evaluating fishing impacts.

Feeding ecology of Japanese Spanish mackerel(Scomberomorus niphonius)along the eastern coastal waters of China

Feeding activities provide necessary nutrition and energy to support the reproduction and development of fish populations.The feeding ecology and dietary plasticity of fish are important factors determining their recruitment and population dynamics.As a top predator,Japanese Spanish mackerel(Scomberomorus niphonius)supports one of the most valuable fisheries in China.In this study,the feeding ecology and diet composition of Japanese Spanish mackerel spawning groups were analysed based on samples collected from six spawning grounds along the eastern coastal waters of China during spring(March to May)in 2016 and 2017.Both stomach contents and stable isotope analysis were conducted.Stomach content analysis showed that spawning groups of Japanese Spanish mackerel mainly fed on fish,consuming more than 40 different prey species.Diets were significantly different among sampling locations.The most important prey species were Stolephorus in Fuzhou,Japanese anchovy Engraulis japonicus in Xiangshan,Euphausia pacifica in Lüsi,sand lance Ammodytes personatus in Qingdao and Weihai,and Leptochela gracilis in Laizhou Bay.Stable isotope analysis showed that the trophic level of Japanese Spanish mackerel was relatively high and generally increased with latitude from south to north.In the 1980 s,the diet of Japanese Spanish mackerel was dominated solely by Japanese anchovies in the eastern coastal waters of China.The results in the present study showed that the importance of Japanese anchovies declined considerably,and this fish was not the most dominant diet in most of the investigated waters.Both the spatial variations in diet composition and changes in the dominant diet over the long term indicated the high adaptability of Japanese Spanish mackerel to the environment.Combining the results of stomach analysis and stable isotope analysis from different tissues provided more comprehensive and accurate dietary information on Japanese Spanish mackerel.The study provides essential information about the feeding ecology of Japanese Spanish mackerel and will benefit the management of its populations in the future.

Developing an intermediate-complexity projection model for China's fisheries:A case study of small yellow croaker(Larimichthys polyactis)in the Haizhou Bay,China

Projection models are commonly used to evaluate the impacts of fishing.However,previously developed projection tools were not suitable for China’s fisheries as they are either overly complex and data-demanding or too simple to reflect the realistic management measures.Herein,an intermediate-complexity projection model was developed that could adequately describe fish population dynamics and account for management measures including mesh size limits,summer closure,and spatial closure.A two-patch operating model was outlined for the projection model and applied to the heavily depleted but commercially important small yellow croaker(Larimichthys polyactis)fishery in the Haizhou Bay,China,as a case study.The model was calibrated to realistically capture the fisheries dynamics with hindcasting.Three simulation scenarios featuring different fishing intensities based on status quo and maximum sustainable yield(MSY)were proposed and evaluated with projections.Stochastic projections were additionally performed to investigate the influence of uncertainty associated with recruitment strengths and the implementation of control targets.It was found that fishing at FMSY level could effectively rebuild the depleted stock biomass,while the stock collapsed rapidly in the status quo scenario.Uncertainty in recruitment and implementation could result in variabilities in management effects;but they did not much alter the management effects of the FMSY scenario.These results indicate that the lack of science-based control targets in fishing mortality or catch limits has hindered the achievement of sustainable fisheries in China.Overall,the presented work highlights that the developed projection model can promote the understanding of the possible consequences of fishing under uncertainty and is applicable to other fisheries in China.

Performance evaluation of fixed-station sampling design for a fishery-independent survey with multiple objectives

Fixed-station sampling design was widely used in fishery-independent surveys because of its characteristics of convenient sampling station setting,but the non-probabilistic(fixed)nature made it more uncertainty of drawing inferences on population.The performance of fixed-station sampling design for multispecies survey has not been evaluated,and we are uncertain if the design could detect the temporal trends of different populations in multispecies fishery-independent survey.In this study,spatial distribution of abundance indices for three species with different spatial distribution patterns including small yellow croaker(Larimichthys polyactis),whitespotted conger(Conger myriaster)and Fang’s blenny(Enedrias fangi)were simulated using ordinary kriging interpolation as the“true”population distribution.The performance of fixed-station sampling design was compared with simple random sampling design by resampling the simulated“true”populations in this simulation study.The results showed that the fixed-station sampling design had the power to detect the seasonal trends of species abundance.The effectiveness of fixed-station sampling design were different in different species distribution patterns.When the species had even distribution,fixed-station sampling design could get high quality abundance data;when the distribution was uneven with heterogeneity or patchiness,fixed-station sampling design tended to underestimate or overestimate the abundance.Evidently,the estimates of abundance index based on the fixedstation sampling design must be calibrated cautiously while applying them for fisheries stock assessment and management.This study suggested that fixed-station sampling design could catch the temporal dynamics of population abundance,but the abundance estimates from the fixed-station sampling design could not be treated as the absolute estimates of populations.

Evaluating multispecies survey designs using a joint species distribution model

Survey designs should be efficient as marine survey programs are usually expensive and time-consuming;however,surveys have rarely been evaluated for multiple species.In the present study,we evaluated multispecies fisheries surveys with respect to three influential factors,i.e.,sampling methods,estimation methods and sample size.A joint species distribution model(JSDM)developed in north Yellow Sea,China was used as the operating model to simulate the spatial distribution of multiple species simultaneously.We examined the precision of multispecies abundance estimation using diverse sampling methods[random sampling(RDS),systematic sampling(SYS),stratified random sampling(SRS),generalized random-tessellation stratified sampling(GRT)and spatial coverage sampling(SPC)],estimation methods[arithmetic mean(Arm),universal kriging(Ukr),multivariate distribution model(Mvd),and boral model(Brm)],and a range of sample sizes(from 30 to 300).The results showed significant differences in estimation among sampling methods,where GRT and SYS yielded less relative absolute bias(RAB)over all and RDS showed the least precision.Regarding estimation methods,Mvd and Arm showed the best performances and Brm yielded the least precision.Significant interactions existed between sampling and estimation methods.Arm worked best with GRT,likewise Mvd with SYS and Ukr with SPC.SPC and Mvd showed the best performances for a small sample size(N=30),and all sampling and estimation methods provided similar results for a large sample size(N=300).Generally,doubling sample size resulted in a decrease of RAB by 0.097 on average,a rate depending on species,sampling and estimation methods.This study contributed to an integrative framework for evaluating designs of multispecies fisheries surveys.

Comparison of sampling effort allocation strategies in a stratified random survey with multiple objectives

Stratified random survey is commonly used to estimate abundance indices of fish populations in multispecies survey,providing reliable data for stock assessment and fisheries management.In some cases,however,the sample size is relatively small because of the limitation of survey cost or other factors.The allocation methods of sampling efforts among strata in stratified random surveys with small sample size may need adjustment compared with traditional approaches.In this study,two sampling stations were allocated to each stratum first and then the remaining sampling units were allocated among strata using five traditional allocation methods.In order to distinguish them from traditional methods,we called them adjusted methods in this study.A simulation study was conducted to compare the performances of different allocation strategies of sampling efforts in a stratified random survey for estimating abundance indices of multiple target species.Relative estimation error(REE)and relative bias(RB)were used to measure the precision and accuracy of estimates of abundance indices under different allocation schemes of sampling efforts in the multispecies survey.The performances of different allocation schemes in estimating abundance indices varied greatly for different species over different seasons.The adjusted Neyman allocation scheme could significantly reduce the REE and RB of estimates of abundance index for single species survey.For multiple species surveys,the adjusted average-Neyman allocation method,the adjusted Yate allocation method,the adjusted proportional allocation method and current allocation method had relatively high accuracy and precision of estimates of abundance indices for four species in terms of the total_(REE) and total_(RB).Though the adjusted average-Neyman allocation scheme did not always have the best performance,it was the optimal one considering the accuracy and precision of estimates of abundance indices for all species simultaneously.The allocation of sampling efforts among strata in stratified random surveys targeting for estimating abundance indices of multiple species should comprehensively consider the variance of abundance of different species in stratum and the seasonal changes.

Sexual and spatio-temporal variation of Lake Erie Walleye growth and maturity:A consequence of multiple impacting factors

Sexual and spatio-temporal variations have been observed in the life history parameters of many aquatic species and their causes have been related to harvesting pressure and environmental changes.This study aims to explore sexual,spatial and temporal variation in the growth and maturity through weight-at-length,length-at-age,and maturity-at-length relationships for Lake Erie Walleye(Sander vitreus)as a case to test some hypotheses.Hypotheses on whether harvest pressure and environmental changes(both local and global scale)caused the temporal changes of these life history traits were further diagnosed.Sexual and spatio-temporal variations in these life history traits were formulated using mixed-effects models.Our study found that geographic basin,sex,year and cohort all have substantial effects on the growth and maturity of Walleye based on survey data from 1989 to 2015.Multiple factors including water supply of Lake Erie,temperature,fishing pressure of Walleye,and global climate factors were found to correlate with the temporal variations of growth and maturity of Walleye significantly.Our findings should contribute to the future interpretation of Walleye life history variations and population dynamics.The methodology constructed in this study could be applied to explore the heterogeneity and impacting factors for other species in aquatic ecosystems.

Special topic-Fisheries monitoring:Eyes in the ocean:Innovative and multidimensional solutions to monitor fisheries

In the era of climate change,the visibility of environmental changes dictates public attention.Pictures of untamable bushfires,intense hurricanes,collapsing ice sheets are all gripping images that alarm us and urge us to take action.The ocean,however,gives us less such visuals;the changes that are taking place there are often abstract and hidden.However,the environmental challenges in the ocean are less visible but no less grave;they come from multiple sources:pollution,plastic waste,ocean surface warming,ocean acidification(IPCC,2019).But the most direct and age-old impact we exert on the ocean and its ecosystems is overfishing(FAO,2018).