AUTHOR=Wang Jintao , Cheng Yiqi , Lu Huajie , Chen Xinjun , Lin Lei , Zhang Junbo 

TITLE=Water Temperature at Different Depths Affects the Distribution of Neon Flying Squid (Ommastrephes bartramii) in the Northwest Pacific Ocean

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Marine Science

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.741620

DOI=10.3389/fmars.2021.741620

ISSN=2296-7745

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Ommastrephes bartramii</italic> can vertically swim during its life, and previous studies have suggested the need to account for preferred habitat distribution influenced by water temperatures at different depths. To explore the impacts of deep-water temperature on <italic>O. bartramii</italic> spatial distribution, we constructed generalized additive models (GAMs) based on the Chinese squid-jigging fishery data and the Argo deep water temperature data during 2005–2018 in the Northwest Pacific Ocean to analyze the relationships between the local abundance of <italic>O. bartramii</italic> and deep-water temperatures. The results showed that the variables including surface water temperature (<italic>T</italic><sub>0</sub>), water temperature at 30- and 100-m depths (<italic>T</italic><sub>30</sub> and <italic>T</italic><sub>100</sub>), and water differences between <italic>T</italic><sub>0</sub> and <italic>T</italic><sub>30</sub> (<italic>D</italic><sub>0–30</sub>) significantly affected the spatial distribution of <italic>O. bartramii</italic>. The suitable ranges of each variable are different, &gt; 15.5°C for <italic>T</italic><sub>0</sub>, 11–18°C for <italic>T</italic><sub>30</sub>, &lt; 6°C for <italic>T</italic><sub>100</sub>, and 4–4.5°C for <italic>D</italic><sub>0–30</sub>. The areas occupied by the suitable <italic>T</italic><sub>30</sub> seemed to reflect the outline of fishing ground, whereas the areas with suitable <italic>T</italic><sub>100</sub> were to indicate the high density of <italic>O. bartramii</italic>. The predicted suitable habitat area and high-density area for <italic>O. bartramii</italic> are also regulated by El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. We demonstrated how the estimates of <italic>O. bartramii</italic> spatial distribution would vary influenced by deep-water temperatures in the Northwest Pacific Ocean. This information may help develop an appropriate method for investigating the effects of deep-water temperature on species with vertical migration.</p>