A spatial analysis of larval fish assemblages in the Celtic Sea off Great Britain (47° to 51°N): implications of bathymetry and ocean warming

Fish larvae from the Celtic Sea were analysed to identify their distribution patterns, diversity and assemblage structure with regard to bathymetry and ocean warming. Samples were collected in April 2007 comprising larval stages of 60 fish species (3834 individuals) from 106 stations. Stations were...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine biology research 2014-05, Vol.10 (5), p.482-493
Main Authors: Tiedemann, Maik, Kloppmann, Matthias, Ulleweit, Jens, Gröger, Joachim Paul, Hagen, Wilhelm
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Argentinidae
Bathylagidae
Callionymus
canonical discriminant analysis
diversity
Gadidae
mackerel
Marine
Myctophidae
Neritic
oceanic
Scomber scombrus
Soleidae
Stomiidae
Trachurus
Trachurus trachurus
transition
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Fish larvae from the Celtic Sea were analysed to identify their distribution patterns, diversity and assemblage structure with regard to bathymetry and ocean warming. Samples were collected in April 2007 comprising larval stages of 60 fish species (3834 individuals) from 106 stations. Stations were divided into three major faunal zones, i.e. neritic, transition and oceanic. This zonation was confirmed by canonical discriminant analysis and cluster analysis. While all zones were dominated by Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus), horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus) and dragonets (Callionymus spp.), the oceanic zone was additionally characterized by typical mid-water taxa such as Myctophidae, Stomiidae and Bathylagidae. The neritic zone was characterized by Gadidae, Soleidae and Argentinidae. The transition zone showed the highest diversity with typical species from both the neritic and oceanic zone. It also exhibited the highest abundances of fish larvae. Bathymetry explains most (75%) of the three faunal assignments. S. scombrus and T. trachurus spawned earlier and shifted further north for spawning compared to recent years. It is inferred that the relatively high sea-surface temperatures in April 2007 and the overall warming in the Celtic Sea triggered the northward shift of spawning grounds and the earlier spawning of these species compared to previous years.
ISSN:1745-1000
1745-1019
DOI:10.1080/17451000.2013.819983