Late spring and summer patterns of euphausiid reproduction in Southeast Alaska fjord waters

Abstract

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 516:153-161 (2014) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11003 Late spring and summer patterns of euphausiid reproduction in Southeast Alaska fjord waters Andrew R. Szabo1,*, Harold P. Batchelder2 1Alaska Whale Foundation, 4739 University Way NE 1239, Seattle, WA 98105, USA 2College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA *Corresponding author: szabo@alaskawhalefoundation.org ABSTRACT: Abundance, size and developmental stage data for furcilia and juvenile euphausiids together with data on the timing and prevalence of attached spermatophores on adult females are used to infer times of spawning by 4 euphausiid species in Frederick Sound and lower Stephens Passage, Southeast Alaska. Results from net tows conducted between late May and September 2008 and a single, opportunistic dip-net sample on 21 April indicate that Thysanoessa raschii and T. longipes spawned in association with the spring phytoplankton bloom in April and continued spawning until June, with juveniles first appearing in mid- to late June. Presence of female T. spinifera carrying spermatophores in mid-April indicates that T. spinifera spawns in association with the spring bloom as well; however, absence of larval T. spinifera suggest that spawning in the inshore waters is comparatively rare. In contrast, observations of female Euphausia pacifica carrying spermatophores from late May to August and the first appearance of early furcilia in August indicate that spawning occurs, at least to some extent, after the primary bloom. However, the appearance of juvenile E. pacifica in late June suggests that spawning occurred earlier as well and in discrete bouts. We argue that the absence of E. pacifica furcilia that were likely to have originated from an early spawning event may indicate that E. pacifica juveniles observed in late June were advected into the study region from the Gulf of Alaska. Overall, phenology of seasonal reproduction in this Alaskan fjord is similar to that observed in coastal waters in arctic and temperate ecosystems. KEY WORDS: Euphausiids · Southeast Alaska · Spawning timing · Juvenile · Larva · Fjord Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Szabo AR, Batchelder HP (2014) Late spring and summer patterns of euphausiid reproduction in Southeast Alaska fjord waters. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 516:153-161. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11003 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 516. Online publication date: December 03, 2014 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2014 Inter-Research.