Abstract
The taxonomy, spatial distribution, and abundance patterns of ichthyoplankton collected in September 2005 from the coastal zone of Gorgona Island National Natural Park in the Colombian Pacific Ocean were analyzed. The ichthyoplankton in the study area was collected with oblique tows using a minibongo net (30 cm; 250 μm mesh). The tows were made from variable depths depending on the stations but never exceeding 50 m. A sampling grid with 24 stations was used. Fish larvae abundance was between 69 and 16,837 larvae·1000 m -3 . Larval stages of 35 species belonging to 14 families were identified. Gobiidae (35%) and Sciaenidae (15%) were the most abundant and frequent families. Lythrypnus sp. (8,519 larvae·1000 m -3 ) and Sciaenidae spp. (6,553 larvae·1000 m -3 ) were the most abundant and frequent species. The analysis of larval spatial distribution suggested a tendency to aggregate towards the south of the study zone, approximately 5 km offshore. Significant differences were detected in the ichthyoplankton abundances between the eastern and the western zones of the study area (Mann-Whitney, p = 0.000062). However, no significant relationship was observed between ichthyoplankton abundance and average temperature (Spearman, R = -0.346), salinity (Spearman, R = 0.227), and water transparency (Spearman, R = 0.10).
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