Editing Albacore (section)

==Biology and ecology==
[[File:Hooked albacore tuna.jpg|thumb|Freshly hooked albacore tuna]]
The albacore is a powerful, hard-hitting predator<ref name=fishbase/> that forms mixed schools with [[skipjack tuna]], [[yellowfin tuna]], and [[bluefin tuna]], sometimes around floating objects like [[sargassum]] weeds.<ref name=iucn_old/><ref name=fao/> Schools of albacore are highly migratory within bodies of water and segregated by maturity, with older fish tending to form more compact groups. Of those caught by humans, immature albacore have a 1:1 sex ratio while older albacore are mostly male. In the Atlantic Ocean, older fish are found in cooler waters. The opposite is true for the Pacific Ocean, where fish are found more abundantly along thermal discontinuities. Depth range also varies by location: Atlantic fish dive as deep as {{convert|600|m|ft|abbr=on}} where Pacific fish reach only {{convert|380|m|ft|abbr=on}} in depth.<ref name=fao/> In the northeast Atlantic, feeding migrations to productive areas occur during the summer. Due to climate changes over the last 40 years, the timing and spatial distribution of the albacore have also changed.<ref name=dufour/>

Albacore show a broad range of behavioral differences by region. In [[Baja California]], albacore make frequent dives to depths exceeding {{convert|200|m|abbr=on}} during the day and stay near the surface at night, while off the coast of Washington and Oregon they stay near the surface the entire day.<ref name=childers>{{cite journal |last=Childers |first=John |author2=Stephanie Snyder |author3=Suzanne Kohin |title=Migration and behavior of juvenile North Pacific albacore (''Thunnus alalunga'') |journal=Fisheries Oceanography |date=1 January 2011 |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=157–173 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2419.2011.00575.x |bibcode=2011FisOc..20..157C |url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1251&context=usdeptcommercepub |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Albacore never really rest; their need for oxygen means they must always be on the move.<ref name=dufour/>

===Feeding===
Albacore tuna are pelagic (open-sea) predators. Their diets vary little from season to season. Unlike other tuna that eat primarily fish, for example the [[bigeye tuna|bigeye]] and yellowfin tuna, the albacore's main source of food is [[cephalopod]]s. The most abundant cephalopod in its diet is ''[[Heteroteuthis dispar]]'', a tiny deep-water squid found in the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. Another cephalopod species preyed upon is ''[[Berryteuthis anonychus]]''.<ref name="Thunnus alalunga Ahi pahala">{{cite web | url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Thunnus_alalunga/ | title=Thunnus alalunga (Ahi pahala) | website=[[Animal Diversity Web]] }}</ref> Other food sources of the albacore include fish (including ''[[Pacific saury|Cololabis saira]]'', ''[[Japanese anchovy|Engraulis japonicus]]'', and ''[[Californian anchovy|Engraulis mordax]]''), crustaceans, and gelatinous organisms.<ref name=bertrand/><ref name="Thunnus alalunga Ahi pahala"/> Not much is known about the food pattern of the albacore, however, mostly because it dives over {{convert|400|m|ft|abbr=on}} underwater when searching for food, and tagging and tracking has been unsuccessful thus far.<ref name=bertrand>{{cite journal |last=Bertrand |first=A. |author2=Bard, F. |author3=Josse, E. |title=Tuna food habits related to the micronekton distribution in French Polynesia |journal=Marine Biology |volume=140 |issue=5 |pages=1023–1037 |doi=10.1007/s00227-001-0776-3 |date=1 May 2002 |bibcode=2002MarBi.140.1023A |s2cid=84191172 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Consoli |first=P.|author2=Romeo, T. |author3=Battaglia, P. |author4=Castriota, L. |author5=Esposito, V. |author6=Andaloro, F.|title=Feeding habits of the albacore tuna Thunnus alalunga (Perciformes, Scombridae) from central Mediterranean Sea |journal=Marine Biology |volume=155 |issue=1 |pages=113–120 |doi=10.1007/s00227-008-1012-1 |date=1 July 2008 |bibcode=2008MarBi.155..113C |s2cid=85625507}}</ref>

===Life history===
The albacore's reproduction is [[oviparous]] and a {{convert|20|kg|lb|abbr=on}} female can produce between 2–3 million eggs per spawning,<ref name=fao/> which usually takes place between November and February.<ref name=ramon>{{cite journal |last1=Ramon |first1=Darlene |last2=Bailey |first2=Kevin |title=Spawning seasonality of albacore, ''Thunnus alalunga'', in the South Pacific Ocean |journal=Fishery Bulletin |volume=94 |issue=4 |pages=725–733 |date=4 October 1996 |url=https://spo.nmfs.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/pdf-content/1996/944/ramon.pdf }}</ref> Eggs mature outside of the female's body and hatch in 1–2 days, after which [[fry (biology)|fry]] begin to grow quickly. For the first year of their lives, juveniles remain close to the place where they were hatched. They begin to migrate after their first year. Albacore have a lifespan of 11–12 years, but they reach reproductive maturity at around 5–6 years.<ref name=thisfish>[http://thisfish.info/fishery/species/albacore-tuna/ "Albacore Tuna"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929125728/http://thisfish.info/fishery/species/albacore-tuna/ |date=2013-09-29 }} This fish. ThisFish & Ecotrust Canada 25 Oct 2013.</ref>

A large majority of albacore have larger right testes or ovaries, depending on sex. Albacore have asynchronous [[oocyte]] development, that is their immature egg cells do not develop at regular intervals. The creation of [[Ovum|ova]], known as [[oogenesis]], begins with the rapid production of [[oogonia]] (undifferentiated germ cells that give rise to oocytes) by mitotic separations in the oogonial nests of female tuna. The resulting oocytes are cast ''en masse'' into the sea, where full development and later fertilization take place.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1016/s1546-5098(01)19007-2 |chapter=Reproductive biology of tunas |title=Tuna: Physiology, Ecology, and Evolution |series=Fish Physiology |year=2001 |last1=Schaefer |first1=Kurt M. |volume=19 |pages=225–270 |isbn=978-0-12-350443-2 }}</ref>