Spatio-temporal dynamics of highly migratory top predators over ocean provinces

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project Area: New Ocean Paradigm on Its Biogeochemistry, Ecosystem and Sustainable Use
• Project/Area Number: 24121008
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (Research in a proposed research area)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Review Section: Complex systems
• Research Institution: Fisheries Research and Education Agency
• Principal Investigator: Kiyota Masashi 国立研究開発法人水産研究・教育機構, 国際水産資源研究所, グループ長 (10371931)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 米崎 史郎 国立研究開発法人水産研究・教育機構, その他部局等, 研究員 (30463102) ; 酒井 光夫 国立研究開発法人水産研究・教育機構, その他部局等, その他 (70371937) ; 上野 洋路 北海道大学, 水産科学研究科(研究院), 准教授 (90421875) ; 帰山 雅秀 北海道大学, 水産科学研究科(研究院), 教授 (80305937)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): OKUDA Takehiro 水産研究・教育機構, 国際水産資源研究所, 研究員 (80700385) ; KATO Yoshiki 水産研究・教育機構, 開発調査センター, 主任研究員 (20571582) ; KAERIYAMA Masahide 北海道大学, 国際本部, 特任教授 (80305937)
• Research Collaborator: MURAKAMI Chisato 水産研究・教育機構, 国際水産資源研究所, 研究等支援職員
• Project Period (FY): 2012-06-28 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 海洋生態系 / 食物網 / 高次捕食者 / 生態系サービス

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We promoted four study projects to understand the structure and function of ocean provinces as habitats and food environment for marine higher trophic level (HTL) organisms: 1) We developed a new clustering algorithm to classify HTL communities and estimated a community cluster maps using a machine learning technique. 2) We made Ecopath ecosystem models for the classified HTL communities, and compared their food web characteristics, estimated key species and key processes, and evaluated the impacts of commercial fisheries. 3) We analyzed the sexual differences in seasonal latitudinal migration in neon-flying squids and simulated sexual dimorphism in body size using ecosystem and bioenergetic models. 4) We estimated the primary production of each ocean province that supports the growth and migration of chum salmon released from and returning to mother rivers in Japan. Results of this study provides a novel method for quantifying the supporting service of the marine ecosystem services.

Free Research Field

海洋生態学