Abstract
Patterns in the mesoscale distribution of larval fish in the coastal waters of central Greece, an area of high topographic and bathymetric complexity, were analysed using samples collected during two ichthyoplankton surveys in July 1998 and June 1999. Salinities were lower in the eastern (Aegean) part of the study area due to the influence of waters originating from the Black Sea. In this region, larvae of many epipelagic and benthopelagic (typically summer spawning) species were less abundant in June 1999, when waters were significantly cooler, compared to July 1998. Multivariate analyses identified ‘neritic’ and ‘pelagic’ groups of stations dominated by larvae of epipelagic/bethopelagic (typically shelf dwelling) and mesopelagic species. In the west (Ionian Sea), a prominent third group of stations located in the deep and highly enclosed Korinthiakos Gulf was also defined with very high abundances of mesopelagic fish larvae. However, the genera Cyclothone and Vinciguerria that dominated the neighbouring offshore assemblage of the Ionian Sea were absent from this gulf. In the study area, Korinthiakos Gulf ( > 900 m) and North Evoikos ( > 400 m) Gulf comprise unique ‘fjord-like’ ecosystems in the Mediterranean with increased productivity and significantly cooler deep waters compared to adjacent open sea basins.
Highlights
Ichthyoplankton investigations are of unique value for our understanding of reproductive and early life history adaptations of fishes to their ecosystem (Moser and Smith, 1993)
Salinities were lower in the eastern (Aegean) part of the study area due to the influence of waters originating from the Black Sea
In the west (Ionian Sea), a prominent third group of stations located in the deep and highly enclosed Korinthiakos Gulf was defined with very high abundances of mesopelagic fish larvae
Summary
Ichthyoplankton investigations are of unique value for our understanding of reproductive and early life history adaptations of fishes to their ecosystem (Moser and Smith, 1993). The formation of a larval fish assemblage means that component species (often sharing different habitats) synchronize their larval production, which implies that they have similar links with physical and/or trophic variables, similar reproductive and/ or early life history strategies, and probably a similar response to physical forcing and regime shifts (Doyle et al, 2009; Somarakis et al, in press). In contrast to the western Mediterranean (Sabatés et al, 2007; Olivar et al, 2010) where larval fish assemblage studies have provided a comprehensive view of the link between oceanography and the structure of assemblages, multispecies investigations in the eastern Mediterranean are scant and restricted to the northern Aegean Sea (Somarakis et al, 2000, 2002; Koutrakis et al, 2004; Isari et al, 2008; Tsikliras et al, 2009) and the Sicilian channel (Cuttitta et al, 2004). Our main aim was to define the major distribution and abundance patterns as well as the principal characteristics of the water column that control these patterns
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