Fig 1.
Shelf waters (< 150 m) of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
The eastern Gulf of Mexico is shown in blue, while the western Gulf of Mexico is shown in red.
Table 1.
Environmental variables retained in final generalized additive models for juvenile (age-0), sub-adult (age-1-2), and adult (age-2+) red snapper over unconsolidated substrate of the eastern and western GoM.
Fig 2.
Influence of geographic and physicochemical variables on red snapper abundance in the eastern GoM.
Response plots from final generalized additive models show the influence of longitude, bottom dissolved oxygen (DO), and bottom temperature on the abundance of A) juvenile (age-0), B) sub-adult (age-1-2), and C) adult (age-2+) red snapper over unconsolidated bottom in the eastern GoM. Solid lines represent smoothed values, and shaded areas represent 95% confidence intervals. Dashed lines are included at y = 0.
Fig 3.
Influence of benthic habitat variables on red snapper abundance in the eastern GoM.
Response plots from final generalized additive models show the influence of depth (m), distance to artificial structure (Dist. Artificial), and distance to natural hard bottom habitat (Dist. Natural) on the abundance of A) juvenile (age-0), B) sub-adult (age-1-2), and C) adult (age-2+) red snapper over unconsolidated bottom in the eastern GoM. Solid lines represent smoothed values, and shaded areas represent 95% confidence intervals. Dashed lines are included at y = 0.
Fig 4.
Influence of geographic and physicochemical variables on red snapper abundance in the western GoM.
Response plots from final generalized additive models show the influence of latitude, longitude, bottom dissolved oxygen (DO), and bottom temperature on the abundance of A) juvenile (age-0), B) sub-adult (age-1-2), and C) adult (age-2+) red snapper over unconsolidated bottom in the western GoM. Solid lines represent smoothed values, and shaded areas represent 95% confidence intervals. Dashed lines are included at y = 0.
Fig 5.
Influence of benthic habitat variables on red snapper abundance in the western GoM.
Response plots from final generalized additive models show the influence of depth (m), distance to artificial structure (Dist. Artificial), and distance to natural hard bottom habitat (Dist. Natural) on the abundance of A) juvenile (age-0), B) sub-adult (age-1-2), and C) adult (age-2+) red snapper over unconsolidated bottom in the western GoM. Solid lines represent smoothed values, and shaded areas represent 95% confidence intervals. Dashed lines are included at y = 0.
Fig 6.
Predicted relative abundance of red snapper in shelf waters (< 150 m) of the U.S. GoM.
Spatial distributions of predicted relative abundance of juvenile (age-0), sub-adult (age-1-2), and adult (age-2+) red snapper over unconsolidated substrates of the U.S. GoM based on final generalized additive models for each life stage and mean environmental conditions during the fall season (September-October). Relative abundance reflects predicted catch per trawl tow, and the scale for each panel differs: juvenile (0–56), sub-adult (0–13), and adult (0–3). Dashed line represents 150-m isobath.
Table 2.
Relative contribution of predicted high quality habitat for red snapper in the U.S. GoM by region.