Thunnus albacares

Yellowfin Tuna- Thunnus albacares

Habitat Tropical and Subtropical Seas, with the exception of the Meditteranean

Range Thunnus albacares can travel very long distances. Migratory patterns have shown distances traveled from the US Pacific Coast to Japan. They are pelagic fish found from 1-250 m deep. They can be found worldwide besides in the Mediterranean Sea.

Description Yellowfin tuna reach a total length of 2.08 m and a maximum weight of 200 kg. The average life span is 8 years. They have very long dorsal and anal fins, and moderately long pectoral fins. Yellowfin tuna are black to dark blue in color with a yellow or silver belly. Their dorsal fin, anal fins and finlets are bright yellow. Yellowfin tuna are extremely fast swimmers reaching speeds up to 80 kph. They are able to streamline their body for faster swimming by folding their fins into special indentations.

Ecological Notes Thunnus albacares feed on fishes, crustaceans, and squid

Personal Information When we went to the Oregon Inlet Charters docks we saw a boat take out a bunch of fish they caught deep sea fishing. They caught about ten yellowfin tuna. I have also been on numerous charters where we use a parachute/kite to catch tuna, this is when you fly a kite/parachute with a fish at the end of the line. The fish hovers at the top of the water and the tuna jumps out to grab the bait. This helps assure that you have in fact caught a tuna or other desirable fish instead of something else.

References http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=139

Journal Articles To read more about Distinct Yellowfin Tuna (Thunnus albacares) Stocks Detected in Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) Using DNA Microsatellites please see:

Aguila, Roselyn D., et al. "Distinct Yellowfin Tuna (Thunnus Albacares) Stocks Detected In Western And Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) Using DNA Microsatellites." Plos ONE 10.9 (2015): 1-14. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 May 2016.

- This study wants to find the genetic structure of the yellowfin tuna from the Philippines and compare these to the Bismarck Sea and Papua New Guinea using micro satellite markers. These DNA markers found that the genetics differ when the Philippines yellowfin tuna is compared against the other species of yellowfin tuna from the Bismarck Sea and Papua New Guinea. With these results they show that the yellowfin tuna found from the Philippines is different from the Bismarck Sea yellowfin tuna. This shows that there are subpopulations of yellowfin tuna which can be further studied.

To read about Vertical Movements, Behavior and Habitat Utilization of Adult Yellowfin Tuna (Thunnus albacares) Tagged in West Philippine Sea, Mindoro Island, Philippines. please see:

MACUSI, EDISON D., RICARDO P. BABARAN, and JOSE T. INGLES. "Vertical Movements, Behavior And Habitat Utilization Of Adult Yellowfin Tuna (Thunnus Albacares) Tagged In West Philippine Sea, Mindoro Island, Philippines." IAMURE International Journal Of Ecology & Conservation 15.(2015): 283-300. Environment Complete. Web. 2 May 2016.

- This paper describes vertical movement in the water column as well as behaviors that fish have. In this study they used daily time records of depth and temperature from the dives from the fish at different times of day. The different speeds of the fish are typically correlated with how the fish dive and at what depth they dive. This information is important because it shows the vulnerability of the tunas.

Contributed by Samantha Carson 2016

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