scholarly journals Variation of larval fish distributions associated with variability in the location of a shelf-slope front

1996 ◽  
Vol 135 ◽  
pp. 11-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Sabatés ◽  
MP Olivar
Keyword(s):  
Larval Fish ◽  
Shelf Slope ◽  
Fish Distributions

The community structure of larval fish populations in an area of the Celtic Sea in 1998

2002 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 641-648 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Acevedo ◽  
O. Dwane ◽  
J.M. Fives
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Fish Species ◽  
Larval Fish ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Coastal Fish ◽  
Larval Stages ◽  
Celtic Sea ◽  
Sea Area ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Fish Distributions

Ichthyoplankton from an area in the Celtic Sea was studied to provide an insight into the fish larval community structure in March, May and June 1998. Three station groups were defined each month, Neritic, Transition and Oceanic. The Neritic assemblages included larval stages of coastal fish species and the Oceanic assemblages included mesopelagic and high-oceanic fish species which were not recorded from any of the Neritic stations. The Transition stations usually contained species characteristic of both the Neritic and Oceanic assemblages. It is suggested that these broad patterns of larval fish distributions are constant features of the Celtic Sea area, probably related to the spawning location of the adults. The area is, in general, species poor, with the Oceanic stations usually dominated by a single species, indicating the presence of a large spawning school of fish.

Strong links between metal contamination, habitat modification and estuarine larval fish distributions

2011 ◽  
Vol 159 (6) ◽  
pp. 1499-1509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew C. McKinley ◽  
Anthony Miskiewicz ◽  
Matthew D. Taylor ◽  
Emma L. Johnston
Keyword(s):  
Metal Contamination ◽  
Larval Fish ◽  
Habitat Modification ◽  
Fish Distributions

scholarly journals Cyclonic entrainment? The ichthyoplankton attributes of three major water mass types generated by the separation of the East Australian Current

2014 ◽  
Vol 71 (7) ◽  
pp. 1696-1705 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paloma A. Matis ◽  
Will F. Figueira ◽  
Iain M. Suthers ◽  
Joshua Humphries ◽  
Anthony Miskiewicz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Waters ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Larval Fish ◽  
Anticyclonic Eddy ◽  
Cyclonic Eddy ◽  
Nursery Ground ◽  
East Australian Current ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Shelf Slope ◽  
Tasman Sea

The relationship between larval fish assemblages and coastal oceanography is the basis for much of our understanding of connectivity and productivity of fish populations. Larval fish assemblages were sampled from the upper mixed layer (<50 m depth) at three prominent circulation features [separation of the East Australian Current (EAC), anticyclonic eddy, and cyclonic eddy] off the southeast Australian coast across three bathymetric zones (shelf, slope and ocean) for each feature. The separation of the EAC from the coast at ∼32°S was characterized by warmer, less saline water compared with the cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies further to the south (∼34 and ∼35°S, respectively), which were both characterized by cooler Tasman Sea water and greater fluorescence. The anticyclonic eddy had separated from the EAC three months prior to sampling, which facilitated the movement of a cyclonic eddy from the Tasman Sea westwards to the shelf at ∼34°S. The larval assemblage in the EAC had high numbers of fish of the families Labridae and Stomiidae. The cyclonic eddy was characterized by larval clupeids, carangids, scombrids and bothids, indicating recent entrainment of shelf waters and proximity to major spawning regions. In contrast, the anticyclonic eddy had fewer larval fish, with little evidence for entrainment of shelf assemblages into the near-surface waters. Myctophids were found in high abundance across all oceanographic features and bathymetric zones. The evidence of selective entrainment of coastal larval fish into the near-surface waters of a cyclonic eddy compared with a similar anticyclonic eddy indicates a potential offshore nursery ground.

scholarly journals Fish spawning strategies in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea

2019 ◽  
pp. 161-187
Author(s):  
Ana Sabatés Freijo
Keyword(s):  
Water Column ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Larval Fish ◽  
Fish Larvae ◽  
Vertical Mixing ◽  
Reproductive Activity ◽  
Zooplankton Biomass ◽  
High Yield ◽  
Shelf Slope ◽  
Nw Mediterranean

The Mediterranean is globally considered an oligotrophic sea. However, there are some places or certain seasons in which mechanisms that enhance fertility may occur. These mechanisms, and related processes, are especially relevant in maintaining fish populations when they take place during the period of larval development. This contribution analyzes how environmental conditions occurring in the NW Mediterranean, at local and seasonal scales, determine the temporal and spatial patterns of fish reproductive activity in the region. The structure of the bathymetry, diversity of adult fish habitats and hydrodynamic mechanisms conditioning the primary production of the region (e.g., shelf-slope density front and associated current, continental water inflows, winter mixing, stratification of the water column) determine the location of spawning and the distribution patterns of fish eggs and larvae. A pronounced seasonal variability regarding both the number of species and the number of fish larvae in the plankton can be observed throughout the year. Most NW Mediterranean fish reproduce during the spring–summer stratification period, when the phytoplankton biomass values at the upper layers of the water column are lower than in winter. The development of the Deep Chlorophyll Maximum in this period and the high zooplankton biomass associated to it offers an important food source for the larvae. Additionally, during this period the inputs of continental waters are one of the fertilization mechanisms of surface waters and some species, as anchovy, takes advantage of this situation. Autumn–winter is the period with lower ichthyoplankton diversity, being dominated by sardine. Vertical mixing during winter is one of the mechanisms that enhance productivity. Overall, fish species show reproductive strategies and larval fish behavior that allow them to take advantage of the available resources throughout the seasonal cycle. These strategies, together with the high ecological efficiency of oligotrophic systems, contribute to the relatively high yield of Mediterranean fisheries. In a context of global change, understanding of the mechanisms relating environmental changes to the extent of spatial and temporal location of suitable spawning habitats of fish is a key first step to predicting and projecting such future changes, and thereby adapting to these changes.

Prey tell: what quillback rockfish early life history traits reveal about their survival in encounters with juvenile coho salmon

2020 ◽  
Vol 650 ◽  
pp. 7-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
HW Fennie ◽  
S Sponaugle ◽  
EA Daly ◽  
RD Brodeur
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Direct Evidence ◽  
Coho Salmon ◽  
Larval Fish ◽  
Early Life History ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Otolith Microstructure Analysis ◽  
Pelagic Juvenile

Predation is a major source of mortality in the early life stages of fishes and a driving force in shaping fish populations. Theoretical, modeling, and laboratory studies have generated hypotheses that larval fish size, age, growth rate, and development rate affect their susceptibility to predation. Empirical data on predator selection in the wild are challenging to obtain, and most selective mortality studies must repeatedly sample populations of survivors to indirectly examine survivorship. While valuable on a population scale, these approaches can obscure selection by particular predators. In May 2018, along the coast of Washington, USA, we simultaneously collected juvenile quillback rockfish Sebastes maliger from both the environment and the stomachs of juvenile coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch. We used otolith microstructure analysis to examine whether juvenile coho salmon were age-, size-, and/or growth-selective predators of juvenile quillback rockfish. Our results indicate that juvenile rockfish consumed by salmon were significantly smaller, slower growing at capture, and younger than surviving (unconsumed) juvenile rockfish, providing direct evidence that juvenile coho salmon are selective predators on juvenile quillback rockfish. These differences in early life history traits between consumed and surviving rockfish are related to timing of parturition and the environmental conditions larval rockfish experienced, suggesting that maternal effects may substantially influence survival at this stage. Our results demonstrate that variability in timing of parturition and sea surface temperature leads to tradeoffs in early life history traits between growth in the larval stage and survival when encountering predators in the pelagic juvenile stage.

Climate-associated trends and variability in ichthyoplankton phenology from the longest continuous larval fish time series on the east coast of the United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 650 ◽  
pp. 269-287
Author(s):  
WC Thaxton ◽  
JC Taylor ◽  
RG Asch
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Environmental Variability ◽  
Larval Fish ◽  
Interspecific Interactions ◽  
River Estuary ◽  
Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Larval Survival ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Northerly Wind

As the effects of climate change become more pronounced, variation in the direction and magnitude of shifts in species occurrence in space and time may disrupt interspecific interactions in ecological communities. In this study, we examined how the fall and winter ichthyoplankton community in the Newport River Estuary located inshore of Pamlico Sound in the southeastern United States has responded to environmental variability over the last 27 yr. We relate the timing of estuarine ingress of 10 larval fish species to changes in sea surface temperature (SST), the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, the North Atlantic Oscillation, wind strength and phenology, and tidal height. We also examined whether any species exhibited trends in ingress phenology over the last 3 decades. Species varied in the magnitude of their responses to all of the environmental variables studied, but most shared a common direction of change. SST and northerly wind strength had the largest impact on estuarine ingress phenology, with most species ingressing earlier during warm years and delaying ingress during years with strong northerly winds. As SST warms in the coming decades, the average date of ingress of some species (Atlantic croaker Micropogonias undulatus, summer flounder Paralichthys dentatus, pinfish Lagodon rhomboides) is projected to advance on the order of weeks to months, assuming temperatures do not exceed a threshold at which species can no longer respond through changes in phenology. These shifts in ingress could affect larval survival and growth since environmental conditions in the estuarine and pelagic nursery habitats of fishes also vary seasonally.

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