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Age-Dependent Patterns of Spatial Autocorrelation in Fish Populations
Name
Institutional Affiliation
, 2
Age-Dependent Patterns of Spatial Autocorrelation in Fish Populations
Background
Population dynamics are controlled by density dependent and independent
forces that fluctuate in time and space and affect individuals differently within a
population. At the population level, age classes frequently exhibit differences in several
mechanisms influencing spatial autocorrelation, including dispersal, density regulation,
preferential habitat, sensitivity to the environment, and trophic relations. These
distinctions could cause unique geographical densities between age classes in fish.
Unfortunately, there is limited information concerning how age-specific features may
impact spatial autocorrelation impressions in fish species.
Objective
The study aimed at investigating how spatial autocorrelation in abundance
fluctuations varies in relation to age/ life stage in three fish species found in the Barents
Sea: cod, haddock, and beaked redfish. Three critical characteristics were used to
quantify spatial autocorrelation. The first is the autocorrelation coefficient as the
distance approaches zero, followed by, the autocorrelation’s spatial size (standard
deviation). Lastly is the autocorrelation degree at "infinity."
Materials and Methodology
The researchers assessed population spatial autocorrelations based on data obtained from
annual bottom-trawl investigations conducted between 1985 and 2016 by the Norwegian
Institute for Marine Research and the Polar Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and
Age-Dependent Patterns of Spatial Autocorrelation in Fish Populations
Name
Institutional Affiliation
, 2
Age-Dependent Patterns of Spatial Autocorrelation in Fish Populations
Background
Population dynamics are controlled by density dependent and independent
forces that fluctuate in time and space and affect individuals differently within a
population. At the population level, age classes frequently exhibit differences in several
mechanisms influencing spatial autocorrelation, including dispersal, density regulation,
preferential habitat, sensitivity to the environment, and trophic relations. These
distinctions could cause unique geographical densities between age classes in fish.
Unfortunately, there is limited information concerning how age-specific features may
impact spatial autocorrelation impressions in fish species.
Objective
The study aimed at investigating how spatial autocorrelation in abundance
fluctuations varies in relation to age/ life stage in three fish species found in the Barents
Sea: cod, haddock, and beaked redfish. Three critical characteristics were used to
quantify spatial autocorrelation. The first is the autocorrelation coefficient as the
distance approaches zero, followed by, the autocorrelation’s spatial size (standard
deviation). Lastly is the autocorrelation degree at "infinity."
Materials and Methodology
The researchers assessed population spatial autocorrelations based on data obtained from
annual bottom-trawl investigations conducted between 1985 and 2016 by the Norwegian
Institute for Marine Research and the Polar Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and
