Staudinger, Michelle
(Ph.D., W&FCON / School of Marine Sciences)
Project:
Quantifying size-dependent predation and selectivity on squid: implications for fishery management
Contact:
mstaudin “at” nre.umass.edu
Support:
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute Sea Grant
Massachusetts Marine Fisheries Institute, School for Marine Science and Technology
Five College Coastal and Marine Sciences Program
Faculty Advisor:
Francis Juanes
Web links:
Marine Biological Laboratory www.mbl.edu
National Marine Fisheries Service, Northeast Fisheries Science Center http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/
School for Marine Sciences http://www.umassmarine.net/
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute Sea Grant http://www.whoi.edu/seagrant/
Project Abstract:
In the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, a basic understanding of the mechanisms controlling predation risk and demand on squid populations is lacking. Squid are a primary prey resource to a variety of predators including finfish, elasmobranchs, and marine mammals. Squid are also harvested commercially and over recent decades landings have increased by several orders of magnitude. The primary objectives of my dissertation research are to 1) Characterize how body size relationships between squid and their predators co-vary 2) Quantify behavioral factors mediating squid’s vulnerability to predation and 3) Determine the degree of competition between squid predators and the commercial fishing industry for size resources. I use long-term food habits data provided in part by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA) to evaluate underlying ecological factors that mediate predation on squid. Laboratory experiments conducted at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA investigate squid’s vulnerability to predation and anti-predator defense behaviors used by squid. Longfin inshore squid (Loligo pealeii) is the focal prey species used in behavioral trials and bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) and summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) were chosen as two model predators representing active and lie-and-wait predation tactics, respectively. Results of this study will help gain a better understanding of squid and predator behaviors and improve our ability to predict shifts in predation pressure resulting from changes in population structure regionally.
Publications:
Staudinger, M. D., Juanes, F., and S. Carlson. In Review. Reconstructing body size from ingested remains and estimating total length in two species of squid from the Northwest Atlantic. Submitted to ICES Journal of Marine Science.
Staudinger, M. D., Juanes, F., Link, J. 2007. Prey size-predator size relationships of squid and their predators in the Northwest Atlantic in Olson, R. J. and J. W. Young (eds). 2007. The role of squid in open ocean ecosystems. Report of a GLOBEC- CLIOTOP/PFRP workshop, 16-17 November 2006, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. GLOBEC Report 24: 94 p.
Moltschaniwskyj, N.A., Hall, K., Lipinski, M. R., Marian, J.E.A.R., Nishiguchi, M., Sakai, M., Shulman, D.J., Sinclair, B., Sinn, D.L., Staudinger, M., Van Gelderen, R., Villanueva, R., and K. Warnke. 2007. Ethical and welfare considerations when using cephalopods as experimental animals. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 17 (2-3): 455-476.
Staudinger, M. D. 2006. Seasonal and size-based predation on two species of squid
by four fish predators on the Northwest Atlantic continental shelf. Fishery Bulletin, 104 (4); 605-615.
Last updated August 5, 2010 by
