A numerical study on the transport of eggs and larvae of Sergia lucens in Suruga Bay, Japan

Abstract

Numerical experiments were performed to investigate the transport processes of eggs and larvae of Sergia lucens in Suruga Bay, Japan, focusing on the physical effects of the river water spreading. In the experiments, labeled particles, which were regarded as the eggs or early larvae of S. lucens with no (or weak) swimming ability, were passively transported in flow fields that were calculated by an ocean general circulation model. In the innermost region of the bay (off the Fuji River mouth) where there is no continental shelf, a retention area where the eggs and larvae could stay in a nutrient-rich environment for a long time was formed, especially in the upper part of their habitation layers, by the large bulge with anticyclonic (clockwise) circulation. No retention area was formed in the western region of the bay (off the Oi and Abe River mouths) or in an additional experiment in which a continental shelf was artificially created in the innermost region. It was estimated that in the retention area, the residence time of the eggs and early larvae is prolonged by about a month. The formation of the retention area is controlled by the dynamics of the river water spreading, affected by the bottom topography and the Earth’s rotation. Moreover, the reason why S. lucens are only caught in abundance in Suruga Bay was discussed.