Environmental noise in spawning areas:: the case of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus)

This paper provides an exploratory analysis aiming to seek whether the colour of environmental noise theory could help in understanding the intriguing reproductive strategy of Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT). A frequency-based approach based on spectral exponents, f(beta) with beta < 0, is chosen and applied on 10 biogeographical provinces covering the North Atlantic. The major BFT spawning area, i.e. the Mediterranean Sea, was the only one to display a pink power spectrum, whereas open ocean regions displayed more reddened fluctuations, i.e. greater variance at low frequencies. Environmental noise in the Mediterranean could, thus, offer more favourable characteristics on the long-term than the open ocean. The implications of these findings are discussed in regards to medium and long (possibly evolutionary) time scales.