Preferential distribution of fish larvae in the California Current System: Time, space, and temperature

The preferential larval distributions of 22 fish species in the California Current System were identified in their temporal, spatial, and thermal domains using single parameter quotient analysis. This analysis allowed the characterization of their reproductive habitats based on ranges of preference, tolerance, and avoidance. In the temporal domain, the species’ preference intervals were wider than those previously reported, and all species showed preferences during two or more seasons of the year. In the spatial domain, the preferential distributions of the species were also wider, and some of them had different preferred zones from those described in previous works. Because one group of species was preferably distributed in coastal zones, and the other group was preferably distributed in oceanic zones, the biological production mechanisms sustaining these groups differ, namely, coastal upwelling and geostrophic fluxes of subarctic origin, respectively. In the thermal domain, the larval distribution preferences of 20 of 22 species have been determined for the first time, providing important information on their thermal tolerance window during the larval stage, a window that changes in width throughout each of the ontogenetic stages of fish. The distribution in each domain suggests association patterns between species, but additional studies are necessary to validate these patterns.