Larval Flatfish Distributions and Drift on the Southern Grand Bank

Abstract

Ichthyoplankton and hydrographic surveys of the southern Grand Bank in September of 1986, 1987, and 1988 revealed substantial correspondence between the areal distributions of larvae of three flatfish species and temperature below the thermocline. Depth-averaged densities of American plaice (Hippoglossoides platessoides) were negatively correlated with temperature whereas yellowtail flounder (Limanda ferruginea) and witch flounder (Glyptocephalus cynoghssus) densities were positively correlated with temperature. In spite of large interannual differences in abundance, the larval distributions showed similar structure from year to year. Using estimates of larval age inferred from length frequency distributions and literature values for growth rate, in conjunction with moored current measurements, estimates of spawning times and locations were obtained for each species. These estimates were compared with historical information on the distribution of prespawning fish for each species to examine the hypothesis of passive larval drift. The results indicate that in most, but not all cases, the larval distributions and currents are consistent with passive larval drift for particular growth rates and vertical distributions. However, the observations are not adequate to rule out alternative mechanisms involving behaviour.