Papers by Jessica A. Sameoto
Ecosphere, Apr 1, 2024
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arXiv (Cornell University), May 8, 2024
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ICES Journal of Marine Science
Recent efforts in ocean mapping of seafloor habitat have made data increasingly available. For bo... more Recent efforts in ocean mapping of seafloor habitat have made data increasingly available. For bottom-dwelling and/or sessile species, there is often a strong relationship between population productivity and habitat, and stock assessment models are likely to be improved by the inclusion of habitat. Here, we extend a recently developed spatio-temporal biomass dynamics model to allow habitat to inform probabilities of non-zero tows and catchability. Simulation experiments demonstrate the ability of this new approach to reliably capture population trends over time and space, with the applicability of the method further demonstrated using data from the Canadian Maritimes Inshore Sea Scallop Fishery in the Bay of Fundy. This habitat-informed spatio-temporal biomass dynamics model better captures underlying processes, reduces uncertainty, thereby improving our understanding of stock status from which fisheries management decisions can be based.
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Marine Ecology Progress Series, 2021
Horse mussels Modiolus modiolus can occur in dense aggregations and form areas of ecological and ... more Horse mussels Modiolus modiolus can occur in dense aggregations and form areas of ecological and biological significance. In the Bay of Fundy, Canada, aggregations of horse mussels are associated with flow parallel bedforms, and this area is under consideration for designation as a sensitive benthic area which would provide protective measures. Basic demographic information is required to inform the development of effective conservation and management strategies and although general life-history characteristics of M. modiolus are known, detailed quantitative demographic information on this population is limited. The objective of this study was to characterize the population structure of horse mussels in the Bay of Fundy and assess change in key demographic characteristics since the last study in this area in 1997/1998. There have been significant changes in the population since 1998: the 2017 population contains larger, older, mature individuals, with significantly more females; 35%...
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Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
Length–weight relationships (LWRs) are an essential component of fishery stock assessments. They ... more Length–weight relationships (LWRs) are an essential component of fishery stock assessments. They are used to develop indices of condition and to convert length data into estimates of biomass. Attempts to capture variability in underlying ecological processes within statistical modeling frameworks for LWRs have typically relied on the inclusion of environmental variables. Here, using a case study of sea scallop ( Placopecten magellanicus), we demonstrate that introducing spatiotemporal random effects into generalized linear mixed models can improve LWRs. We compare models with and without potentially informative environmental variables. We find that the explicit incorporation of spatiotemporal dependence structures reduces bias and increases precision in the estimation of weight. The combination of both spatiotemporal effects and environmental variables provided the best predictions in most years. Spatiotemporal random effects can provide a comprehensive means of improving LWRs for v...
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Marine and Coastal Fisheries, 2022
For fisheries to be sustainable, management should account for all major sources of fishing morta... more For fisheries to be sustainable, management should account for all major sources of fishing mortality. On the Canadian side of Georges Bank, landings and discards of transboundary stocks of Atlantic Cod Gadus morhua, Haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus, and Yellowtail Flounder Limanda ferruginea are monitored against quotas that are shared by the Canadian groundfish and scallop (sea scallop Placopecten magellanicus) fisheries to limit fishing mortality. The shared quota allocations are managed using an adaptive quota management system; quota can be redistributed between the fisheries during the season to maximize fishing opportunities, while still respecting the overall catch limits. However, the redistribution relies on estimates of the total end‐of‐year discards of Atlantic Cod, Haddock, and Yellowtail Flounder from the scallop fishery. Here, we evaluated and compared two approaches for projecting end‐of‐year discards within season: an empirical method based on scallop fishery landin...
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Seafloor Geomorphology as Benthic Habitat, 2020
Abstract An area of 5320 km2 in water depths of 30–250 m has been mapped on German Bank on the so... more Abstract An area of 5320 km2 in water depths of 30–250 m has been mapped on German Bank on the southern Scotian Shelf in Atlantic Canada. The Scotian Shelf is a formerly glaciated continental margin characterized by a topographically rugged inner shelf. Bedrock is exposed at the seafloor on much of German Bank. Ice-contact sediment (till) was deposited beneath or at the margins of the ice sheet directly onto bedrock during the Wisconsinan glaciation and occurs as a widespread sediment blanket. Ice-distal glaciomarine silt overlies the older till and is primarily confined to small basins on the bank. Limited accumulations of postglacial sediments are composed of well-sorted sand, grading to rounded and subrounded gravel. Analysis of seafloor photographs and underwater video revealed broadscale gradients in benthic fauna composition across the bank. Surficial geology, broad biophysical (“benthoscape”), and modeled scallop habitat suitability maps are presented for the area, generated using a variety of methods. The combined use of these different maps is offering benefits for use in fisheries management in this area.
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Fisheries Research, 2020
Shifts in size structure have been documented for many commercially exploited marine fish stocks,... more Shifts in size structure have been documented for many commercially exploited marine fish stocks, thought to be attributed to size-selective harvesting practices coupled with changing oceanic conditions. Northwest Atlantic monkfish (Lophius americanus) is a commercially valued species in the United States that is commonly caught as bycatch in Canadian scallop and groundfish fisheries. This uniquely positioned stock is bisected by the Canadian–American jurisdictional boundary, with considerable differences in exploitation and management across its range. The status of this species was assessed two decades ago (2000) in the Maritimes region of Canada and more recently (2016) in the United States, with both countries reporting considerable decreases in the average and maximum size attained by fish. A comprehensive understanding of the magnitude of this size decrease and the drivers underlying these changes across this species’ range is lacking. Here, using 55 years of fishery-independe...
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Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 2021
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Seafloor Geomorphology as Benthic Habitat, 2020
Abstract The Bay of Fundy, Canada, a large macrotidal embayment with the World’s highest recorded... more Abstract The Bay of Fundy, Canada, a large macrotidal embayment with the World’s highest recorded tides, was mapped using multibeam sonar systems. High-resolution imagery of seafloor terrain and backscatter strength, combined with geophysical and sampling data, reveal a suite of glacial landforms associated with the southwest margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. The glacial signature is overprinted by postglacial sediments and a spectrum of bedforms including flow-transverse bedforms occur as both discrete large two-dimensional dunes and as three-dimensional dunes in sand sheets, and flow-parallel bedforms consisting of numerous straight ridges. The suite of bedforms developed during the Holocene, as tidal energy increased due to the bay approaching resonance. Seafloor imagery has revealed that the Bay of Fundy supports a wide range of biological communities associated with the diverse geomorphological setting of the area. A full range of seafloor substrata is represented ranging from bedrock through various mixtures of boulders, cobbles, gravel, sand, and mud, each supporting different biological assemblages. Applying structure-from-motion (SfM) analysis, high-resolution, close-range photographs of the seabed can be used to generate 2D photomosaics and 3D topographic models of the seafloor. Future work will involve the comparison of species data with fine-scale geomorphology data extracted from the SfM analysis and multibeam sonar data to determine statistical relationships between the physical surrogates and benthos across different spatial scales to gain insight into the abiotic drivers of biological patterns on the seafloor.
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Fisheries Research, 2022
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PLOS ONE, 2020
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ICES Journal of Marine Science, 2021
The sustainable management of fisheries has largely relied on stock assessment models that assume... more The sustainable management of fisheries has largely relied on stock assessment models that assume stocks are homogeneous throughout their domain. However, ignoring complex underlying spatial patterns can lead to increased risk of failures in management. Utilizing geostatistical approaches in conjunction with a traditional fishery biomass dynamics model, we develop a spatially-explicit modelling framework that treats the underlying population dynamics as spatial processes. Simulation experiments demonstrate that this approach reliably estimates variance parameters and accurately captures true patterns of population change. We further demonstrate the utility of our modelling framework in a real setting using data from the Canadian Maritimes Inshore Scallop Fishery. The model captures time-varying spatial patterns in both population characteristics and fishing pressure without explicit knowledge of the underlying mechanisms and retains the ability to scale up to the whole spatial domai...
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Marine Pollution Bulletin, 2019
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Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 2017
Management for the major sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) fisheries in Canada is based on m... more Management for the major sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) fisheries in Canada is based on maximum sustainable yield (MSY) biomass and fishing mortality reference points applied to the whole stock, under the assumption that fishing mortality is uniformly distributed in space. However, scallop fishing vessels concentrate fishing in areas that consistently exhibit high densities resulting in a nonuniform spatial distribution of fishing effort. This study applies a spatial model for fishing effort derived from satellite vessel monitoring system data, scallop habitat suitability maps, and relative scallop density from a spatial stock assessment model to evaluate precautionary approach reference points in support of sustainable management. Target harvest rates were evaluated in terms of MSY for the higher habitat suitability areas. The results indicated that although MSY for the spatial model were similar to those when assuming a uniform distribution of effort, the biomass and catch...
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Progress in Oceanography, 2016
Given the need to describe, analyze and index large quantities of marine imagery data for explora... more Given the need to describe, analyze and index large quantities of marine imagery data for exploration and monitoring activities, a range of specialized image annotation tools have been developed worldwide. Image annotation – the process of transposing objects or events represented in a video or still image to the semantic level, may involve human interactions and computer-assisted solutions. Marine image annotation software (MIAS) have enabled over 500 publications to date. We review the functioning, application trends and developments, by comparing general and advanced features of 23 different tools utilized in underwater image analysis. MIAS requiring human input are basically a graphical user interface, with a video player or image browser that recognizes a specific time code or image code, allowing to log events in a time-stamped (and/or geo-referenced) manner. MIAS differ from similar software by the capability of integrating data associated to video collection, the most simple being the position coordinates of the video recording platform. MIAS have three main characteristics: annotating events in real time, posteriorly to annotation and interact with a database. These range from simple annotation interfaces, to full onboard data management systems, with a variety of toolboxes. Advanced packages allow to input and display data from multiple sensors or multiple annotators via intranet or internet. Posterior human-mediated annotation often include tools for data display and image analysis, e.g. length, area, image segmentation, point count; and in a few cases the possibility of browsing and editing previous dive logs or to analyze the annotations. The interaction with a database allows the automatic integration of annotations from different surveys, repeated annotation and collaborative annotation of shared datasets, browsing and querying of data. Progress in the field of automated annotation is mostly in post processing, for stable platforms or still images. Integration into available MIAS is currently limited to semi-automated processes of pixel recognition through computer-vision modules that compile expert-based knowledge. Important topics aiding the choice of a specific software are outlined, the ideal software is discussed and future trends are presented.
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Papers by Jessica A. Sameoto