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 ◽  
...  

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.

2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 548-562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Contreras-Catala ◽  
Laura Sánchez-Velasco ◽  
Miguel F. Lavín ◽  
Victor M. Godínez

2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 434-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. J. MULLANEY ◽  
A. G. MISKIEWICZ ◽  
M. E. BAIRD ◽  
P. T. P. BURNS ◽  
I. M. SUTHERS

Oceans ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-83
Author(s):  
Itziar Alvarez ◽  
Leif K. Rasmuson ◽  
Trika Gerard ◽  
Raul Laiz-Carrion ◽  
Manuel Hidalgo ◽  
...  

Temperature is often an important variable influencing the vertical position of fish larvae in the water column. The same species may show different vertical distributions in areas with a strong near-surface seasonal thermocline compared to isothermal near-surface regions. In areas with a strong surface thermocline, tuna larvae show a significant preference for the near-surface warmer layers. Little is known regarding larval tuna vertical distribution in isothermal waters and on the vertical distribution of the associated larval fish assemblages. We conducted vertical stratified sampling using the same methodology and fishing device (MOCNESS) in the two major spawning areas of Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT): western Mediterranean Sea (MED), characterized by a surface thermocline, and the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) which lacks thermal stratification. Tuna larvae occupied the upper 30 m in both areas, but the average larval depth distribution was consistently deeper in the GOM. In the MED, vertical distribution of larval fish assemblages was explained by temperature, and species such as BFT, Thunnus alalunga, and Ceratoscopelus maderensis, among others, coexist above the thermocline and are separated from species such as Cyclothone braueri and Hygophum spp. (found below the thermocline). In the GOM, the environmental correlates of the vertical distribution of the larvae were salinity and fluorescence. Mesopelagic taxa such as Ceratoscopelus spp. and Cyclothone spp., among others, had a shallower average distribution than Lampanyctus spp., Hygophum spp., and Myctophum spp.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. e0199241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanan Wu ◽  
Jiakai Liu ◽  
Jiexiu Zhai ◽  
Ling Cong ◽  
Yu Wang ◽  
...  

2013 ◽  
Vol 64 (10) ◽  
pp. 932 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. B. Bucater ◽  
J. P. Livore ◽  
C. J. Noell ◽  
Q. Ye

Estuaries are transition zones that link freshwater and marine ecosystems and are often used as nursery areas by fish. The Murray–Darling Basin, which is heavily affected by flow regulation and water extraction, is the largest river system in Australia and terminates at the Murray Mouth estuary. Protracted drought conditions resulted in extremely low flows to the Murray Mouth that affected water condition, fish abundance, community structure and fish use of the estuary (e.g. nursery areas). The aims of the present study were to examine temporal changes in larval fish assemblages in this estuary. The assemblages were dominated by two gobiid species, Arenigobius bifrenatus and Tasmanogobius lasti. There was a noticeable absence or low abundance of freshwater, diadramous and large-bodied marine species that use this estuary for reproductive functions. Monthly differences in larval fish assemblages, between August–September and October–November, were attributed to increases in the abundances of A. bifrenatus in October and November and oscillation in T. lasti during the entire sampling period. The outcomes of the present study suggested that larval fish assemblages in drought conditions are limited to small-bodied species tolerant of high salinities and that freshwater flows are needed for the estuary to function as a nursery for other species.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Kai Chen ◽  
Chia-Yi Pan ◽  
Yi-Chen Wang ◽  
Hsiu-Ju Tseng ◽  
Bo-Kun Su ◽  
...  

AbstractIn this study, the interannual variations of ichthyoplankton assemblages in the Taiwan Strait (TS) during the winters of 2007–2013 were determined. The cold China Coastal Current (CCC) and Mixed China Coastal Water (MCCW) intruded into the TS and impinged with the warm Kuroshio Branch Current (KBC) with annual variations. Consequently, the ichthyoplankton community in the TS was mainly structured into two assemblages characterized by differing environmental conditions. The composition of the warm KBC assemblage was relatively stable and was characterized by Diaphus B and Bregmaceros spp. By contrast, the cold MCCW assemblage demonstrated considerable variations over the years, with demersal Gobiidae and Scorpaenidae families considered the most representative. In addition, Benthosema pterotum and Trichiurus spp. were common in both KBC and MCCW assemblages. The distribution of the KBC assemblage demonstrated sharp boundaries in the frontal zones, whereas changes in the assemblage structure between the frontal zones were gradual for the MCCW assemblage, particularly when demersal taxa were dominant. Sea surface temperature and salinity were most strongly associated with variability in the assemblage structure during the study period. Thus, this paper provides a better understanding of long-term larval fish dynamics during winter in the TS.


2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 1041-1051 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Zindler ◽  
I. Peeken ◽  
C. A. Marandino ◽  
H. W. Bange

Abstract. Dimethylsulphide (DMS) and dissolved and particulate dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSPd, DMSPp) were measured in near-surface waters along the Mauritanian coast, Northwest Africa, during the upwelling season in February 2008. DMS, DMSPd and DMSPp surface concentrations of up to 10 nmol L−1, 15 nmol L−1 and 990 nmol L−1, respectively, were measured. However, the DMS concentrations measured are in the low range compared to other upwelling regions. The maximum DMSPp concentration is the highest reported from upwelling regions so far, which might indicate that the Mauritanian upwelling is a hot spot for DMSP. Within the phytoplankton groups, dinoflagellates were identified as important contributors to DMS concentrations, while other algae seemed to have only a minor or no influence on DMS and DMSP concentrations. A pronounced switch from high DMSP to high DMS concentrations was observed when the nitrogen to phosphorus ratio (N:P) was below 7. The high DMS/DMSP ratios at N:P ratios <7 indicate that nitrogen limitation presumably triggered a switch from DMSP to DMS independent of the species composition. Our results underline the importance of coastal upwelling regions as a local source for surface seawater sulphur.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei-Jen Huang ◽  
Ming-Ta Lee ◽  
Kuei-Chen Huang ◽  
Kai-Jung Kao ◽  
Ming-An Lee ◽  
...  

AbstractThe release of anthropogenic radiocesium to the North Pacific Ocean (NPO) has occurred in the past 60 years. Factors controlling 137Cs (half-life, 30.2 year) and 134Cs (half-life, 2.06 year) activity concentrations in the Kuroshio east of Taiwan and the Taiwan Strait (latitude 20° N–27° N, longitude 116° E–123° E) remain unclear. This study collected seawater samples throughout this region and analyzed 134Cs and 137Cs activity concentrations between 2018 and 2019. A principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to analyze the controlling factors of radiocesium. Results of all 134Cs activity concentrations were below the detection limit (0.5 Bq m−3). Analyses of water column 137Cs profiles revealed a primary concentration peak (2.1–2.2 Bq m−3) at a depth range of 200–400 m (potential density σθ: 25.3 to 26.1 kg m−3). The PCA result suggests that this primary peak was related to density layers in the water column. A secondary 137Cs peak (1.90 Bq m−3) was observed in the near-surface waters (σθ = 18.8 to 21.4 kg m−3) and was possibly related to upwelling and river-to-sea mixing on the shelf. In the Taiwan Strait, 137Cs activity concentrations in the near-surface waters were higher in the summer than in the winter. We suggest that upwelling facilitates the vertical transport of 137Cs at the shelf break of the western NPO.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document