Change in habitat associations and geographic distribution of thorny skate (Amblyraja radiata) in the southern Gulf of St Lawrence: density-dependent habitat selection or response to environmental change?

• Published in: Fisheries oceanography Vol. 15; no. 2; pp. 166 - 182
• Main Authors: SWAIN, D. P., BENOÎT, H. P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Science Ltd 01.03.2006; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Amblyraja radiata; climate change; density dependent; depth; geographic range; habitat selection; Marine; temperature; thorny skate; ANW, Canada, St. Lawrence Gulf

We describe changes in the habitat associations and geographic distribution of thorny skate during their feeding season in the southern Gulf of St Lawrence, based on 32 yr of monitoring by a bottom‐trawl survey. In the 1990s, geographic range contracted sharply and distribution shifted into a narrow...