Data from: Temporal variability in the environmental and geographic predictors of spatial-recruitment in nearshore rockfishes

Geography and habitat availability may be key drivers underlying spatial patterns of larval supply and recruitment success of nearshore marine fishes, but they are poorly understood. We assessed spatial recruitment patterns of nearshore young-of-the-year Pacific rockfishes Sebastes spp. in kelp forest and eelgrass meadow habitats from 2004 to 2014 on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Our sites varied in habitat area, wave exposure, sea surface temperature, and distance from the open coast. We observed recruitment of several species of rockfish, including black rockfish S. melanops, bocaccio rockfish S. paucispinis, and a complex of copper, quillback, and brown rockfishes (S. caurinus, S. maliger, and S. auriculatus; CQB). For black rockfish, the species recruiting in highest abundances, we found that although the environmental variables that predicted recruitment were temporally variable, in some years recruitment was higher at sites with colder sea surface temperature, higher tidal velocity, higher fetch, and higher salinity. In contrast, CQB rockfish recruitment was consistently higher at sites with higher fetch but lower tidal velocity, and this relationship was stable through time. Interactions among environmental variables and habitat area explained the counterintuitive observation of higher recruitment in smaller eelgrass meadows but larger kelp forests. Moreover, sites in or on the boundary of a rockfish conservation area experienced the lowest recruitment during an exceptionally strong black rockfish recruitment event in 2006. These results suggest that temporal variability in the ability of environmental variables to predict the spatial distribution of young-of-the-year rockfishes should be considered in models of population connectivity.

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R_AnalysisThis zip file contains all data and scripts needed to reproduce the results in the paper.

地理环境与栖息地可利用性可能是近岸海水鱼类幼体补给（larval supply）与补充成功（recruitment success）空间格局的核心驱动因子，但目前对其认知仍较为匮乏。
本研究于2004年至2014年间，在不列颠哥伦比亚省温哥华岛西海岸的海藻林（kelp forest）与鳗草床（eelgrass meadow）生境中，对近岸当年生（young-of-the-year）太平洋平鲉（Sebastes spp.）的空间补充模式展开评估。研究站点的栖息地面积、波浪暴露程度、海表温度以及距开阔海岸的距离均存在差异。
本次调查共记录到多种平鲉的补充群体，包括黑平鲉（S. melanops）、革平鲉（S. paucispinis），以及铜色平鲉、羽背平鲉与棕色平鲉复合体（S. caurinus、S. maliger、S. auriculatus，简称CQB）。作为丰度最高的补充物种，黑平鲉的研究结果显示：尽管预测其补充量的环境变量存在年际变化，但在部分年份，海表温度更低、潮流流速更快、风区长度（fetch）更长且盐度更高的站点，其平鲉补充量显著更高。
与之形成对比的是，CQB复合体平鲉的补充量始终在风区长度更长但潮流流速更慢的站点更高，且这一关联在研究时段内保持稳定。环境变量与栖息地面积的交互作用，解释了一个看似相悖的观测结果：面积更小的鳗草床生境中平鲉补充量反而更高，而面积更大的海藻林生境补充量则更高。
此外，在2006年黑平鲉爆发性补充的事件中，位于岩鱼保护区（rockfish conservation area）内或其边界处的站点，其平鲉补充量为全研究最低。
本研究结果表明，在种群连通性（population connectivity）模型中，应当纳入环境变量预测当年生平鲉空间分布能力的年际变化这一因素。

使用说明：本R语言分析用压缩包包含复现本论文研究结果所需的全部数据与代码脚本。