Research projects
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You can use the Project Search Tool below to browse over the staff’s research projects, including their brief summaries, that are currently under way, or planned for the near future and funded under the 5-year Strategic Science Plan (2019-2023). The summaries include, for each project, background information, a work plan, and a progress report, as well as details of its relevance and purpose, external collaborators, duration, and deliverables; also, for existing projects, an update on activities since the previous year’s report.
This information can also be found on the IATTC-98b-Staff activities and research plan. -
01 Jul 2021 - 01 Jul 2023FundedObjectives:
- Produce forecasted dynamic species and vessel distributions under different anomaly and climate change scenarios in the near, mid and long-term based on changing environmental drivers.
- Quantify shifts in overlap among species and vessels given shifting habitat for both.
- Understand the impact of climate anomalies, changing oceanographic conditions and future scenarios on forecasted dynamic species and vessel distributions with a specific focus on forecast skill and accounting for uncertainty.
01 Jul 2019 - 31 Dec 2020FundedObjectives:
- Broadly describe the trophic ecology of skipjack tuna in the EPO using classical stomach-contents analysis
- Quantitatively disentangle spatial, temporal, and ontogenetic differences in diet to identify important habitats of skipjack and their forage
01 Jan 2019 - 31 Dec 2021FundedObjectives:
- Review available methods to estimate prey consumption and gastric evacuation rates and daily ration to reliably estimate the consumption biomass ratio (Q/B) for tropical tunas and tuna-like fishes in ecosystem models being developed for the EPO.
- Recommend a reliable method(s) that is feasible, practical and cost-effective for estimating Q/B for key predators in the EPO ecosystem.
01 Jun 2018 - 01 Apr 2019FundedObjectives:
- To further develop and validate statistical tools for the analysis of complex datasets in trophic studies of apex predators.
- To enhance external collaborations and professional development through the analysis of Atlantic bluefin tuna diets in relation to biological and environmental variables.
01 Jun 2018 - 30 May 2021FundedObjectives:
- Update the Ecopath ecosystem model developed for the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean (ETP) by Olson and Watters (2003).
- Convert the model to Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) software version 6.5.
- Update the model with annual catch, discards, fishing mortality and fishing effort data for each functional group from 1993 to present.
- Calibrate the model with new catch and effort time series to improve the reliability of model forecast outputs.
- Produce annual ecological indicators for inclusion in the Ecosystems Considerations report as standardized measures of ecosystem integrity.
01 May 2021 - 31 May 2023FundedObjectives:
- Investigate the connectivity among bycatch species caught in the purse-seine fishery and how the structure of these community relationships changes over time and space (if feasible) in the eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO).
- Investigate the vulnerability of those connections and the role of key bycatch species for the community/network
FundedObjectives:
Provide support to CPCs through the development of data collection forms and the most appropriate computer application to allow the collection, entry, editing and analysis of locally-collected datasets.FundedObjectives:
Respond to requests by CPCs and other entities in a timely manner01 Apr 2018 - 31 Mar 2022FundedObjectives:
To support the ELTI objectives of facilitating cooperation, training and research on the conservation, rehabilitation and restoration of forest lands and watersheds in Panama, and to conserve coastal and marine living resources and ecosystems01 Jun 2018 - 31 Aug 2018FundedObjectives:
Provide training and enhance communication between scientists and managers on management objectives, harvest strategies and management strategy evaluation (MSE).