Data for: Linking vertical movements of large pelagic predators with distribution patterns of biomass in the open ocean
Cite this dataset
Braun, Camrin et al. (2023). Data for: Linking vertical movements of large pelagic predators with distribution patterns of biomass in the open ocean [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.sqv9s4n98
Abstract
Many predator species make regular excursions from near-surface waters to the twilight (200-1,000 m) and midnight (1,000-3,000 m) zones of the deep pelagic ocean. While the occurrence of significant vertical movements into the deep ocean has evolved independently across taxonomic groups, the functional role(s) and ecological significance of these movements remain poorly understood. Here, we integrate results from satellite tagging efforts with model-predictions of deep prey layers in the North Atlantic Ocean to determine if prey distributions are correlated with vertical habitat use across 12 species of predators. Using 3D movement data for 344 individuals that traversed nearly 1.5 million km of pelagic ocean in >42,000 days, we found that nearly every tagged predator frequented the twilight zone and many made regular trips to the midnight zone. Using a predictive model, we found clear alignment of predator depth use with the expected location of deep pelagic prey for at least half of the predator species. We compared high-resolution predator data with shipboard acoustics and selected representative matches that highlight the opportunities and challenges in the analysis and synthesis of these data. While not all observed behavior was consistent with estimated prey availability at depth, our results suggest that deep pelagic biomass likely has high ecological value for a suite of commercially important predators in the open ocean. Careful consideration of the disruption to ecosystem services provided by pelagic food webs is needed before the potential costs and benefits of proceeding with extractive activities in the deep ocean can be evaluated.
README: Data for Linking vertical movements of large pelagic predators with distribution patterns of biomass in the open ocean
Reference Information
Provenance for this README
- Authors: Camrin D. Braun
- Other contributors: see manuscript citation below for all contributing authors
- Date created: 2023-10-16
- Date modified: 2023-10-16
Dataset Version and Release History
- Current Version:
- Number: 1.0.0
- Date: 2023-2023-10-16
- Persistent identifier: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.sqv9s4n98
- Summary of changes: n/a
- Embargo Provenance: n/a
- Scope of embargo: n/a
- Embargo period: n/a
Dataset Attribution and Usage
- Dataset Title: Data for "Linking vertical movements of large pelagic predators with distribution patterns of biomass in the open ocean"
- Persistent Identifier: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.sqv9s4n98
- Dataset Contributors:
- Creators: Camrin D. Braun
- Date of Issue: 2023-10-16
- Publisher: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
- License: Use of these data is covered by the MIT access license
- Title: CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0)
- Specification: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/; the authors respectfully request to be contacted by researchers interested in the re-use of these data so that the possibility of collaboration can be discussed.
Suggested Citations:
Dataset citation:
> Braun, C. D., Della Penna, A., Arostegui, M. C., Afonso, P., Berumen, M. L., Block, B., Brown, C., Fontes, J., Furtado, M., Gallagher, A., Gaube, P., Golet, W., Kneebone, J., Macena, B., Mucientes, G., Orbesen, E., Queiroz, N., Shea, B., Schratweiser, J., Sims, D. W., Skomal, G. B., Snodgrass, D. & Thorrold, S. R. Data for: Linking vertical movements of large pelagic predators with distribution patterns of biomass in the open ocean. Dryad. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.sqv9s4n98.
Corresponding publication:
> Braun, C. D., Della Penna, A., Arostegui, M. C., Afonso, P., Berumen, M. L., Block, B., Brown, C., Fontes, J., Furtado, M., Gallagher, A., Gaube, P., Golet, W., Kneebone, J., Macena, B., Mucientes, G., Orbesen, E., Queiroz, N., Shea, B., Schratweiser, J., Sims, D. W., Skomal, G. B., Snodgrass, D. & Thorrold, S. R. In press. Linking vertical movements of large pelagic predators with distribution patterns of biomass in the open ocean. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Accepted. DOI: xxx < article DOI will be added when it is assigned >
Contact Information
- Name: Camrin D. Braun
- Affiliations: Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
- ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9317-9489
- Email: cbraun@whoi.edu
Methodological Information
Methods of data collection/generation:
We analyzed data from 344 deployments of pop-up satellite archival transmitting (PSAT) tags on 12 species of teleost and elasmobranch predators in the North Atlantic, including sharks (white, Carcharodon carcharias, n=24; basking, Cetorhinus maximus, n=38; tiger, Galeocerdo cuvier, n=10; shortfin mako, Isurus oxyrinchus, n=19; porbeagle, Lamna nasus, n=17; blue, Prionace glauca, n=41; and whale, Rhincodon typus, n=11), rays (Chilean devil ray, Mobula tarapacana, n=16), tunas (Bigeye tuna, Thunnus obesus, n=16; Yellowfin tuna, Thunnus albacares, n=86) and billfish (blue marlin, Makaira nigricans, n=48; swordfish, Xiphias gladius, n=18). These tags collect data on vertical movements and light levels that can be used to estimate the position of tagged individuals. A subset of individuals tagged with PSATs were also equipped with satellite-linked location-only tags (n=25) which were used to provide spatial movement information. For most individuals (n=319), we used a combination of state-space modeling approaches to estimate daily locations and associated uncertainty for each tag based on sunrise and sunset times and environmental measurements. All vertical data was filtered to only include those periods in which the tracking data indicated the tagged individual was in water at least 2,000 m deep.
See manuscript and associated Supplemental Information for complete details.
Data and File Overview
This repository contains the data and code for Braun et al. Linking vertical movements of large pelagic predators with distribution patterns of biomass in the open ocean published in PNAS. It includes the derived vertical habitat use metrics presented in the manuscript, including the model training data.
Description of the data and file structure
- all_mmd.csv
This is the summarized, species-specific maximum daily depth (in meters) as shown in Figure 1 and S1 in the manuscript.
- all_meso200.csv
This is the summarized, species-specific daily time in the mesopelagic (expressed as % of daily time) as shown in Figures 2 and S2 in the manuscript.
- hgam_data.csv
This is the model training and prediction data and variables as shown in Figure 3 and described in detail in the Methods section.
Data File Details
Details for: all_mmd.csv
- Description: a comma-delimited file containing the summary of maximum daily depth (in meters) for each grid cell. For full detail on the variables listed below, including source, resolution and other details, please see the manuscript.
- Format(s): .csv
- Size(s): 56 KB
- Dimensions: 1920 rows by 4 columns
- Variables:
- value: maximum daily depth (in meters) for each grid cell
- longitude: longitude coordinates in degrees east
- latitude: latitude coordinates in degrees north
- species: species scientific name
- Missing data codes: none
Details for: all_meso200.csv
- Description: a comma-delimited file containing the summary of time (as percentage) in the mesopelagic for each grid cell. For full detail on the variables listed below, including source, resolution and other details, please see the manuscript.
- Format(s): .csv
- Size(s): 37 KB
- Dimensions: 1170 rows by 4 columns
- Variables:
- value: median daily time per grid cell spent in the mesopelagic, expressed as percentage of day
- longitude: longitude coordinates in degrees east
- latitude: latitude coordinates in degrees north
- species: species scientific name
- Missing data codes: none
Details for: hgam_data.csv
- Description: a comma-delimited file containing the observed and model-predicted q95 of daily dive depths and the two dependent variables used in the hierarchical generalized additive models (HGAMs). For full detail on the variables listed below, including source, resolution and other details, please see the manuscript.
- Format(s): .csv
- Size(s): 500 KB
- Dimensions: 6967 rows by 5 columns
- Variables:
- species: species scientific name
- geoMeanDSL: geometric mean of the model-predicted deep scattering layer depth derived from the 3 published DSL models as described in the manuscript
- deltaT220.0: temperature difference between 220m depth and 0m depth as extracted from the GLORYS oceanographic model
- observedQ95: daily observed 95th percentile of the daytime depth distribution for each tagged individual (in meters)
- predictedQ95: daily HGAM model-predicted 95th percentile of the daytime depth distribution for each tagged individual (in meters)
- Missing data codes: none
Additional Dataset Metadata
Acknowledgements
- Funding sources: We thank J. Collins for discussions about the marine carbon cycle, A. Chase for help with optical oceanography, L. Gallagher (Fishpics) who created the species art and a number of individuals who contributed to fieldwork. This work was funded in part by: The Coastal Research Fund in Support of Scientific Staff and the Investment in Science Fund at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (to CDB), the WHOI President's Innovation Fund and Postdoctoral Scholar Program at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution with funding provided by the Dr. George D. Grice Postdoctoral Scholarship Fund (to MCA), UK Natural Environment Research Council (to DWS), the European Research Council (to DWS), a Marine Biological Association Senior Research Fellowship (to DWS) and the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (baseline research funds to MLB). BCLM was supported by the projects IslandShark (PTDC/BIA-BMA/32204/2017), AEROS-Az (ACORES-01-0145-FEDER-000131), MEESO (EU H2020-LC-BG-03-2018), and Mission Atlantic (H2020-LC-BG-08-2018-862428). This work was part of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Ocean Twilight Zone Project, funded as part of the Audacious Project housed at TED.