Physical/Biological Interactions on Georges Bank

Physical processes exert important influences on the biological processes which control the distribution and abundance of populations on the Bank (see Table 1 and Table 2). Understanding the connections between these physical and biological processes is the primary focus of the Northwest Atlantic/Georges Bank Study. For each of the six life stages of cod and haddock, physical and biological factors may have different effects on a cohort's survival, depending upon its location, degree of aggregation, behavior, and coincidence with planktonic prey and predators (Tables 1, 2). The principal spawning time and location of cod and haddock have evolved so that developing larvae coincide with developing plankton populations in the spring. These populations are advected along the southern flank of the Bank and arrive at the western end just as recirculation intensifies, further serving to retain these cohorts on the Bank. Examples of the important physical processes are: