What is it about?
The Japanese spiny lobster inhabits rocky coasts of East Asia, but they spend about 1 year in the open ocean as pelagic larvae. The larvae are believed to migrate widely in the western North Pacific. However, it had not been tested if they can come back to the coastal habitats after being drifted for such a long period of time. By using computer simulations, we have shown for the first time how the larvae can return to the coasts. We found that the depth change of larvae (moving deeper) through their pelagic life is favorable 1) for detraining from a strong current that carries them away from their adult habitats ("meander trough detrainment") and 2) for being transported westward (toward their adult habits) in the western North Pacific ("beta spiral transport").
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Why is it important?
The "meander trough detrainment" is important because it shows how poor swimmers (i.e. plankton) can leave strong currents (e.g. the Kuroshio and Gulf Stream), using cross-frontal flows occurring at the meanders. The "beta spiral transport" is also important because varieties of plankton in open waters may use the beta spiral (rotation of flow direction) to be transported to their favorite areas.
Perspectives
Because ontogenetic vertical migration of pelagic larvae, beta spiral, and cross-frontal flow occur in other oceans such as the Atlantic, I hope people find some connections between their study species/areas and our hypotheses (the above-mentioned mechanisms).
Dr Yoichi Miyake
National Research Institute of Fisheries and Environment of Inland Sea
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Roles of vertical behavior in the open-ocean migration of teleplanic larvae: a modeling approach to the larval transport of Japanese spiny lobster, Marine Ecology Progress Series, November 2015, Inter-Research Science Center,
DOI: 10.3354/meps11499.
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