Larval Dispersion Model Visualization

This map shows simulated larval dispersal of northern rock sole from potential spawning locations (green circles). Northern rock sole spawn demersal eggs, so the eggs are not dispersed by oceanographic currents. Once the larvae hatch, however, they may be carried far "downstream" by currents from where they were spawned.

The map illustrates the predicted trajectories of larvae from potential spawning locations along the Alaskan Peninsula over 60 days. Green lines represent the tracks of "early stage larvae" (< 8mm TL) that occupy the upper 10-20m of the water column. The yellow lines indicate the same larvae after they've grown into "late stage larvae" that undergo diel vertical migration from 10-20m deep in the water column at night to 30-40m deep during the daytime. The yellow triangles represent the end points of the tracks after 60 days. The models that generated these results, written in Java, are being developed to help us model the dispersal of early life history stages of marine species and to generate improved estimates of recruitment of commercially-important flatfish in the Gulf of Alaska and eastern Bering Sea .