Electronic tagging and fisheries catch data have revealed
pronounced differences in preferred habitat of Atlantic bluefin
tuna and yellowfin tuna in the Gulf of Mexico, despite their
close ancestry, according to a new study published today in the
peer-reviewed journal PLoS ONE. Bluefin tuna return to the same
regions of the Gulf of Mexico during spring months to spawn. The
bluefin are selecting a particular habitat along the slope
waters of the Gulf of Mexico, which has unique oceanographic
properties that are predictable and can be seen from satellites.
Yellowfin tuna are more widely distributed throughout the warm
Gulf waters and occupy the region throughout the year. "The
bluefins' habitat requirements are relatively exact so we can
predict with reasonable accuracy where bluefin tuna are likely
to be spawning at any given time based on oceanographic data
continually being gathered by satellites and weather buoys,"
said lead author Steven Teo of the University of California at
Davis. "This is in stark contr