Publication Abstract

Spatial modelling of spawning habitat suitability for the sole (Solea solea L) in the eastern English Channel and southern North Sea

Spatial modelling of spawning habitat suitability for the sole (Solea solea L) in the eastern English Channel and southern North Sea

P.D. Eastwood and G.J.Meaden

The quality and quantity of suitable spawning grounds and nursery areas is thought to represent one link in the chain of physical and biological factors that influence annual levels of recruitment in flatfish populations. Despite the growing body of literature describing fish-habitat relationships and variations in habitat quality, there are limited examples where the results are subsequently used to describe and map spatial variations in both habitat quality and quantity.

Here we outline an approach to developing models of spawning habitat suitability for sole (Solea solea L.) in the eastern English Channel and southern North Sea, using data on the distribution of sole eggs in relation to temperature, salinity, depth and sediment type. Raster maps of the environmental variables, developed within a Geographical Information System (GIS), form the basis of the habitat models. Monthly spatial variations in sole egg abundance are modelled using regression quantiles, a distribution-free regression technique that provides linear model estimates for any part of a biological response distribution, and therefore affords greater flexibility to modelling species habitat relationships.

The regression quantile parameter estimates are then used to re-code the environmental raster maps to produce maps of habitat suitability. The final habitat models depictboth temporal and spatial variations in spawning habitat suitability for a single spawning season.

Reference:

P.D. Eastwood and G. J. Meaden. 2000. Spatial modelling of spawning habitat suitability for the sole (Solea solea L) in the eastern English Channel and southern North Sea. ICES CM 2000/N:05.

P.D. Eastwood* and G.J.Meaden

ICES CM 2000/N:05