Temporal occurrence of ichthyoplankton in relation to hydrographic and biological variables at a fixed station in the St Lawrence Estuary

Abstract

Spring to autumn temporal distributions of ichthyoplankton and other oceanographic variables were measured at three nearshore stations in the lower St Lawrence Estuary in 1977 and 1978. The seasonal occurrence of various species of fish eggs and larvae was similar from one year to the next. Inshore-offshore gradients in abundance of eggs and larvae of different species appeared to be primarily related to the spawning location of each species. The semidiurnal variability was considerably less than the week-to-week variability in all physical and biological variables measured. The weekly variability is predominantly a function of spatiotemporal interactions, due to the geographic displacement of different water masses and their associated plankton in relation to the neap-spring tidal cycle. The timing and duration of spawning for each common species, inferred from ichthyoplankton distributions, suggest a unique combination of spawning and hatching times, ensuring a succession in the occurrence of larvae through time. Results of the temporal and spatial distributions of the different species of ichthyoplankton are discussed in terms of reduced competitive interactions. The relationship between ichthyoplankton distributions and the plankton production cycle in the St Lawrence Estuary is discussed in comparison with other areas.