A spatially-explicit approach for estimating carrying capacity: An application for the Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) in Chesapeake Bay

A spatially-explicit methodology was developed for estimating system carryi ng capacities of fish stocks, and used to estimate the seasonal and spatial patterns of carrying capacity of Chesapeake Bay for Atlantic menhaden (Bre voortia tyrannus). We used a spatially-explicit three-dimensional (3-D) mod el that divided the heterogeneous habitat of Chesapeake Bay into over 4,000 cubes. Each cube represented a volume of water that was characterized by a specific set of environmental variables (phytoplankton biomass, temperatur e, and dissolved oxygen) driven by the 3-D water quality model. Foraging an d bioenergetics models transformed the environmental variables into measure s of potential growth rates of menhaden. Potential carrying capacity of men haden was estimated as a function of phytoplankton production, menhaden con sumption rate, and potential growth rate, combining phytoplankton productio n, thermal habitat, and menhaden physiology into one ecological value that is a measure of habitat quality from the perspective of the fish. Seasonal analysis of the Chesapeake Bay carrying capacity for Atlantic menhaden sugg ested two bottleneck periods: one in early June and a second during the fal l. The fall bottleneck in carrying capacity was at about 10 billion age-0 f ish. Annual recruitment of age-0 menhaden for the entire Atlantic coast of the U.S. ranged from 1.2-18.6 billion fish between 1955 and 1986. It appear s that carrying capacity of Chesapeake Bay does not limit the coastwide pro duction of young menhaden. Any conditions such as nutrient reduction strate gies, further eutrophication, or global climatic warming, that may influenc e the carrying capacity during the fall or early June periods, may ultimate ly alter coastwide abundance of menhaden through changes in Chesapeake Bay carrying capacity.