Tidal and seasonal effects on transport of pink shrimp postlarvae

Transport simulations were conducted to investigate a large seasonal peak in postlarvae of the pink shrimpFarfantepenaeus duorarumthat occurs every summer on the northwestern border of Florida Bay. Daily vertical migration, a known behavior in pink shrimp postlarvae, was assumed in all scenarios investigated. A Lagrangian trajectory model was developed using a current field derived from a 3 yr ADCP (Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler) time series. To fit the estimated planktonic development time of pink shrimp, the model simulated larvae traveling at night over a 30 d period. We investigated 2 types of effects: (1) the effect of mismatch periodicity between tidal constituents and daily migration, and (2) the effect of seasonal changes in night length. The maximum eastward displacement with the semidiurnal lunar tidal constituent (M₂) was 4 km, with periods of enhanced transport in both summer and winter. In contrast, eastward displacement with the semidiurnal solar tidal constituent (S₂) and the lunisolar diurnal K₁ was 65 km and the period of maximum distance occurred in summer every year. Because the periods of S₂ and K₁ are so close to the 24 h vertical migration period, and the eastward current (flood) of these constituents matches the diel cycle over extended intervals, they can induce strong horizontal transport during summer. Thus, diel vertical migration can interact with the S₂ and the K₁ tidal constituents and with the annual cycle of night length to produce a distinct annual cycle that may enhance transport of pink shrimp and other coastal species during summer in shallow areas of the Gulf of Mexico.