Data gathering and input parameters to construct ecosystem models for the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence (mid-1980s)

TL;DR: Morissette et al. as mentioned in this paper used inverse methods to reconstruct trophic flows through the whole northern Gulf of St. Lawrence ecosystem (NAFO zones 4RS) for the mid-1980s period, prior to the groundfish stock collapse.

Abstract: RÉSUMÉ Morissette, L., S.-P. Despatie, C. Savenkoff, M. O. Hammill, H. Bourdages, and D. Chabot. 2003. Data gathering and input parameters to construct ecosystem models for the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence (mid-1980s). Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2497: vi+94 p. In the present study, we use Ecopath and inverse methods to reconstruct trophic flows through the whole northern Gulf of St. Lawrence ecosystem (NAFO zones 4RS) for the mid1980s period, prior to the groundfish stock collapses. This was a period of relatively constant biomass for the major species. The whole-system model of the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence is divided into 32 functional groups or compartments from phytoplankton and detritus to marine mammals and seabirds, including harvested species of pelagic, demersal, and benthic domains. We present here details of the input data (biomass, production, consumption, export, and diet composition) for each compartment used for modelling. The successful development of ecosystem models proposed by the Comparative Dynamics of Exploited Ecosystems in the Northwest Atlantic (CDEENA) program will provide powerful new tools to evaluate the impact of human and environmental factors on a variety of Atlantic shelf ecosystems.