Ria de Alvor as a spawning place and a nursery ground

Abstract

Ria de Alvor is a small estuary between Lagos and Portimão on the south coast of Portugal, 37°7′–37°10′N, 8°35′–8°38′W.Samples were collected monthly in the period April 1985–March 1986 in an ichthyoplankton and ichthyofauna survey of the estuary. A WP‐2 plankton net was used for catching ichthyoplankton, and a beam trawl and a beach seine were used for catching ichthyofauna.Scaldfish, Arnoglossus laterna (Walbaum, 1792), even though the most abundant species in ichthyoplankton samples, was never found in ichthyofauna samples.From the results obtained, it is concluded that a great part of the fish species are temporary marine visitors using the Ria as a nursery ground, although this system appears to provide a spawning area for species with benthic eggs. No evidence was found of pelagic spawning.