Species distribution modelling for snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) potential habitat in Connaigre Bay Newfoundland / by Pierre Goulet, Darrell Mullowney, Andry Ratsimandresy, Melanie Kingsbury, and Dounia... : Fs97-6/3517E-PDF

"Connaigre Bay, a remote fjord on Newfoundland’s (NL) south coast, has been proposed as a potential location for the expansion of finfish aquaculture. This study was set up to answer two main objectives 1) developing Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) for snow crabs in Connaigre Bay, based on environmental variables and crab distribution data, to identify sections of the bay which constitute suitable and unsuitable habitats, and 2) using the result of the model to determine regions of potential overlap between finfish aquaculture farms and snow crab habitat. Surveys of the area were completed to gather bathymetry data, bottom temperature, and substrate class information, along with tow-camera crab presence data. Models were produced using different sets of environmental variables and spatial resolution with model scores ranging from acceptable to good across all tested scenarios. Results show that most of the bay excluding the shallowest peripheries of the bay (i.e. <50 m) can constitute habitat likely to be or regularly used by snow crab. The application of findings to the description of snow crab habitat characteristics and in-depth considerations of SDMs including spatial resolution, data requirements, and variable selection/inclusion are discussed"--Abstract, page vi.

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publications.gc.ca/pub?id=9.918245&sl=1

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