TY - JOUR
T1 - Vertical structure of larval fish assemblages during diel cycles in summer and winter in the southern part of Bahía de La Paz, México
AU - Aceves-Medina, Gerardo
AU - Saldierna-Martínez, Ricardo
AU - Hinojosa-Medina, Alejandro
AU - Jiménez-Rosenberg, Sylvia P.A.
AU - Hernández-Rivas, Martín E.
AU - Morales-Ávila, Raúl
N1 - Funding Information:
Instituto Politécnico Nacional and Coordinación General de Posgrado e Investigación provided financial support through projects 20040611 and 20050317 and Secretaría de Investigación y Posgrado grant 20061015. The authors thank the Programa Institucional de Formación de Investigadores, Estímulo al Desempeño de la Investigación, Comisión de Operación y Fomento de Actividades Académicas, and Sistema Nacional de Investigadores for additional support. William Watson provided valuable comments on the manuscript.
PY - 2008/3/1
Y1 - 2008/3/1
N2 - The effect of environmental variables on the vertical structure of larval fish assemblages in a tropical coastal lagoon was analyzed. Ichthyoplankton samples were collected from the near-bottom and surface strata near the mouth of a subtropical lagoon during contrasting seasonal conditions of temperature, photoperiod, light intensity, and tidal heights. During summer, larval fish assemblages had high species richness (R) and were dominated by tropical species. During winter, assemblages had lower R values and were dominated by subtropical and temperate species. Vertical distribution patterns of the taxa were determined by the interaction of environmental variables and behavior of each species to maintain their position in a stratum in the water column, or to achieve vertical migrations induced by environmental stimuli that, in this case, were thermal gradient, column water stratification, and intensity of light. Depth position and vertical migration of fish larvae, coupled with the flood and ebb tide conditions, played an important role in their retention and displacement toward the lagoon. Fish larvae with distribution restricted to the inner part of the inlet, such as Achirus mazatlanus, Etropus sp., and several gobies, were more abundant in the near-bottom stratum during the ebb tide, allowing them to avoid exportation, whereas those that could spawn outside, but depended on the inlet as a nursery area, were more abundant near the surface during flood tide, such as Abudefduf troschelii and Stegastes rectifraenum.
AB - The effect of environmental variables on the vertical structure of larval fish assemblages in a tropical coastal lagoon was analyzed. Ichthyoplankton samples were collected from the near-bottom and surface strata near the mouth of a subtropical lagoon during contrasting seasonal conditions of temperature, photoperiod, light intensity, and tidal heights. During summer, larval fish assemblages had high species richness (R) and were dominated by tropical species. During winter, assemblages had lower R values and were dominated by subtropical and temperate species. Vertical distribution patterns of the taxa were determined by the interaction of environmental variables and behavior of each species to maintain their position in a stratum in the water column, or to achieve vertical migrations induced by environmental stimuli that, in this case, were thermal gradient, column water stratification, and intensity of light. Depth position and vertical migration of fish larvae, coupled with the flood and ebb tide conditions, played an important role in their retention and displacement toward the lagoon. Fish larvae with distribution restricted to the inner part of the inlet, such as Achirus mazatlanus, Etropus sp., and several gobies, were more abundant in the near-bottom stratum during the ebb tide, allowing them to avoid exportation, whereas those that could spawn outside, but depended on the inlet as a nursery area, were more abundant near the surface during flood tide, such as Abudefduf troschelii and Stegastes rectifraenum.
KW - Bahía de La Paz
KW - Gulf of California
KW - México
KW - circadian rhythms
KW - fish larvae
KW - seasonal variations
KW - vertical distribution
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=38849113281&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ecss.2007.08.016
DO - 10.1016/j.ecss.2007.08.016
M3 - Artículo
SN - 0272-7714
VL - 76
SP - 889
EP - 901
JO - Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
JF - Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
IS - 4
ER -