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Abstract
Notoscopelus resplendens is an abundant myctophid in the region of the Central-Eastern Atlantic. As with a majority of other myctophid species, this species performs vertical migration, playing a key role in the oceanic food web and in carbon sequestration. We examined the reproductive biology of N. resplendens based on 579 specimens caught between 1997 and 2002 off the Canary Islands. We found that the maximum standard length (SL) was lower than the size reported by other authors. The sex ratio was not different from 1:1. The average size at first maturity (L50) was higher in females (60.34 mm SL) than in males (56.61 mm SL). The gonadosomatic index (GSI) at 50% sexual maturity in females was higher than that in males. The reproductive activity was observed from January to April, while from May onwards, the majority of fish caught were in the process of maturation. The macroscopic scale of maturation was validated through the histological analysis of the ovarian development. The batch fecundity was related to the standard length, with an average of 1068.69 ± 369.84 eggs/spawn. These first data obtained for N. resplendens indicated that it is a batch spawner with asynchronous ovarian development.
Highlights
The mesopelagic domain (200–1000 m depth) has massive concentrations of organisms and is considered one of the areas with the highest biomass in the ocean
The study was based on the analysis of 579 specimens of N. resplendens caught during 4 cruises of the B/E “La Bocaina” between 1997 and 2002, off the Canary Islands (Central-Eastern Atlantic) (Fig. 1)
From January to April, females significantly predominated in the size class between 60 and 75 mm standard length (SL) (1:1.43, χ02 = 5.22; N = 161; p < 0.05; Fig. 2a)
Summary
The mesopelagic domain (200–1000 m depth) has massive concentrations of organisms and is considered one of the areas with the highest biomass in the ocean. 40% of the organisms in the DSL feed between twilight and dawn in the epipelagic zone (0–200 m depth)[3,4], playing a key role in the oceanic food web[5,6,7] and in carbon sequestration[8,9]. These mesopelagic fishes are the dominant species in the ocean and are the vertebrates with the largest biomass on the planet[10]. As a potential fishery resource[24], interest in the biology, ecology and population dynamics of these mesopelagic fishes is progressively increasing[25,26]
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