Trophodynamic and advective influences on Georges Bank larval cod and haddock

Using a model-based approach, the relative effects of advective and trophodynamic (feeding and growth) processes are considered on populations of larval cod (Gadus morhua) and haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) on Georges Bank. Building on previous studies that describe the role of advection, this study incorporates trophodynamic relationships to examine starvation mortality and growth rates at the level of individual larvae on the Bank. Estimates of prey concentrations and flow fields appropriate for late winter/early spring are used. Both trophodynamic processes and advection influence larval losses from the Bank where, in the absence of starvation, advective losses are on the order of one-fifth of the eggs and larvae spawned on the Bank. Starvation is most important in the first feeding larvae and is much reduced for older larvae. The contact rates between larval fish and zooplankton prey when turbulence is included are 2–5 times greater than the contact rates with no turbulence, and allow the model cod larvae to achieve growth rates similar to those observed on the Bank, although mean rates for larval haddock are still lower than observed. Turbulence-enhanced contact rates are thus determined to be a necessary component in our description of the growth of cod and haddock larvae on Georges Bank. Model cod larvae with growth rates comparable to those observed in the field are located below the surface layer (deeper than 25 m) and inside the 60 m isobath. The region of highest retention due to circulation processes (Werner et al., 1993; Fisheries Oceanography, 2, 43–64) coincides with the region of highest growth rates and highest larval survival. Therefore, there is a complementary interaction between trophodynamic and circulation processes, with those larvae most likely to remain on the Bank also being those in the most favorable feeding regions. Haddock larvae require higher prey densities than cod larvae to survive.