TY - JOUR
T1 - Variability of fish larvae assemblages relative to mesoscale features in the deep water region of the southern Gulf of Mexico
AU - del Pilar Echeverri-García, Laura
AU - Daudén-Bengoa, Gonzalo
AU - Compaire, Jesus C.
AU - Jiménez-Rosenberg, Sylvia P.A.
AU - Pérez-Brunius, Paula
AU - Ferreira-Bartrina, Vicente
AU - Herzka, Sharon Z.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
PY - 2022/3
Y1 - 2022/3
N2 - In the Gulf of Mexico (GoM), mesoscale features strongly influence hydrographic and circulation patterns, which can favor larval retention and/or transport. Most ichthyoplankton studies in the southern GoM (south of 25°N) have focused on the continental shelves and the Bay of Campeche (BoC), and little is known about larval fish assemblages in the oceanic region. We compared the structure of the assemblages among stations from contrasting mesoscale features in the deep water region (depths greater than 1000 m), hypothesizing that there is a higher similarity in assemblages from stations within the same feature. Ichthyoplankton samples were collected in the upper 200 m during two oceanographic cruises. Analyses of sea surface heights and temperature anomaly profiles allowed us to identify the stations corresponding to specific mesoscale features, including cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies, upwelling, river discharge waters transported offshore, and the Loop Current. Larval fish assemblages were not strictly differentiated among features, except for one assemblage identified within an anticyclonic eddy. Stations within the BoC could be discriminated from the northern oceanic region due to high larval fish abundances and to the occurrence of taxa that inhabit coastal and neritic habitats as adults, which are transported offshore due to local oceanographic processes.
AB - In the Gulf of Mexico (GoM), mesoscale features strongly influence hydrographic and circulation patterns, which can favor larval retention and/or transport. Most ichthyoplankton studies in the southern GoM (south of 25°N) have focused on the continental shelves and the Bay of Campeche (BoC), and little is known about larval fish assemblages in the oceanic region. We compared the structure of the assemblages among stations from contrasting mesoscale features in the deep water region (depths greater than 1000 m), hypothesizing that there is a higher similarity in assemblages from stations within the same feature. Ichthyoplankton samples were collected in the upper 200 m during two oceanographic cruises. Analyses of sea surface heights and temperature anomaly profiles allowed us to identify the stations corresponding to specific mesoscale features, including cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies, upwelling, river discharge waters transported offshore, and the Loop Current. Larval fish assemblages were not strictly differentiated among features, except for one assemblage identified within an anticyclonic eddy. Stations within the BoC could be discriminated from the northern oceanic region due to high larval fish abundances and to the occurrence of taxa that inhabit coastal and neritic habitats as adults, which are transported offshore due to local oceanographic processes.
KW - Bay of Campeche
KW - Gulf of Mexico
KW - Larval fish assemblages
KW - Mesoscale features
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85123490112&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10750-022-04797-w
DO - 10.1007/s10750-022-04797-w
M3 - Artículo
AN - SCOPUS:85123490112
SN - 0018-8158
VL - 849
SP - 1471
EP - 1493
JO - Hydrobiologia
JF - Hydrobiologia
IS - 6
ER -