Occurrence patterns of mesopelagic fish larvae in Sagami Bay, central Japan

Abstract

The species composition, seasonal abundance, and vertical distribution of mesopelagic fish larvae are described based on discrete depth sampling from the surface down to 1000 m depth during four cruises at a fixed sampling station in Sagami Bay. The abundances of total mesopelagic fish larvae in April, July, September, and December were 65.7, 13.6, 118.9, and 17.2 individuals per 10 m2 sea surface, respectively. Twenty species or types of mesopelagic fish larvae belonging to 10 families were collected. Diaphus garmani, Lipolagus ochotensis, Diogenichthys atlanticus, Sigmops gracile, and Maurolicus japonicus were the five most abundant larvae and accounted for 43.1, 14.5, 7.4, 6.3, and 5.9% of the total mesopelagic fish larvae, respectively. These five species showed clear seasonal changes in abundance, i.e. L. ochotensis, D. atlanticus, and S. gracile larvae mainly occurred during winter— spring; D. garmani and M. japonicus were collected during summer—autumn. No obvious diel vertical migration was found in these larvae. The larvae of D. garmani and M. japonicus were concentrated in the 25–50 and 50–100 m depth layers, respectively. The transforming stage of L. ochotensis, S. gracile, and D. atlanticus occurred at 400–1000 m depth, while their larvae (<8 mm standard length) occurred in the upper 100 m layer, indicating that metamorphosis of these species takes place in the 400–1000 m layer. Based on the occurrence of mesopelagic fish larvae and oceanographic processes in Sagami Bay, with the exception of D. garmani and M. japonicus, most larvae are considered to originate from the Kuroshio region where their main spawning grounds are formed.