Spawning and transport dynamics of Atlantic menhaden: inferences from characteristics of immigrating larvae and predictions of a hydrodynamic model

We examined patterns of abundance, age and spawning date distributions of Atlantic menhaden Brevoortia tyrannus larvae immigrating during two seasons through three North Carolina inlets—Oregon, Ocracoke and Beaufort—to elucidate their spawning and transport dynamics. These patterns were examined in conjunction with corresponding predictions from a three‐dimensional, wind‐and tide‐driven hydrodynamic model. Larvae immigrating through different inlets showed consistent similarities as well as marked differences in temporal patterns of abundance, spawning dates and transport times. Intraseasonal patterns in abundance and spawning date distributions among inlets suggest that, in both study years, the spatio‐temporal dynamics of menhaden immigration were driven by large‐scale patterns along the Atlantic coast, rather than by localized variation in spawning activity. Interannual differences in the temporal patterns of spawning dates and larval immigration indicate interannual differences in transport dynamics and/or the spatial‐temporal distribution of spawning. When the spawning locations predicted by the hydrodynamic model are interpreted in conjunction with advanced very high resolution radiometer sea‐surface temperature information, the results are consistent with the limited historical information available on spatio‐temporal distribution of Atlantic menhaden eggs and larvae. The transport model also predicted distributions of arrival times for immigrating larvae that were comparable in range and variability with observed patterns. Our use of data from immigrating larvae, coupled with a hydrodynamic transport model and sea‐surface temperatures, allowed us to uncover relationships between spatio‐temporal patterns of Atlantic menhaden spawning and transport dynamics that could not have been identified by either approach alone.