Distribution and abundance of larval fish in the northern Aegean Sea--eastern Mediterranean--in relation to early summer oceanographic conditions

Temporal patterns of larval fish distribution and abundance in a coastal area of northern Greece

“…Gobiidae, and Thor's scaldfish, A. thori) were predominant in all seasons. The number of taxa recorded throughout this study is comparable to the 77 taxa previously reported for the entire northern Aegean Sea (Somarakis et al, 2002), despite the limited spatial coverage of the present study. Studies in other Greek marine areas include ninety taxa for Pagasitikos Gulf (central Aegean) (Caragitsou et al, 2001) and sixty-six for Kissamos Gulf (NW Crete) (Papasissi, 1998).…”

“…These results are supported by most of the authors who have worked in the Mediterranean. Somarakis et al (2002) reported that depth was the most important determinant of taxonomic composition and abundance and included the Strymonikos and Ierisssos Gulfs in the areas characterised by the coastal assemblage, like most of the coastal zone of the northern Aegean Sea. The depth-related separation of assemblages is also pointed out in the northwestern Mediterranean (off the Catalan coast) by Sabatés (1990), who described a gradual "inshore-offshore" separation over the 200 m depth contour rather than well-defined associations.…”

“…Ichthyoplankton data on the eastern Mediterranean, especially on a seasonal basis, are limited. Larval fish surveys have been conducted in northern Somarakis et al, 2002), central (Ganias et al, 2000;Caragitsou et al, 2001), western (Sorra et al, 2000), and southern (Papasissi, 1998) Greek waters. No information is available on the seasonal distribution of larval fish in the Strymonikos and Ierissos Gulfs, which are important fishing grounds for anchovy and sardine, the most important pelagic fish in terms of biomass in the Thracian Sea (Kallianiotis, 1996).…”

Temporal and along-shelf distribution of the larval fish assemblage at Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

“…Therefore, the extension of the spawning periods (Lowe-McConnell, 1987) in the area is evident when compared to temperate Mediterranean Sea waters. Both ecosystems have neritic and oceanic species in their larval community structure (Sabatés et al, 1990;Somarakis et al, 2002;Isari et al, 2008), but their presence during the year is completely different. Sardinella aurita and Hygophum hygomii are summer spawners in the Mediterranean Sea (Goodyear et al, 1972;Olivar and Palomera, 1994;Sabatés et al, 2006), while their larvae are present during the whole year off Gran Canaria (Bécognée et al, 2006).…”

Larval fish assemblages in coastal waters of central Greece: reflections of topographic and oceanographic heterogeneity

“…In contrast to the western Mediterranean (Sabatés et al, 2007;Olivar et al, 2010) where larval fish assemblage studies have provided a comprehensive view of the link between oceanography and the structure of assemblages, multispecies investigations in the eastern Mediterranean are scant and restricted to the northern Aegean Sea (Somarakis et al, 2000(Somarakis et al, , 2002Koutrakis et al, 2004;Isari et al, 2008;Tsikliras et al, 2009) and the Sicilian channel (Cuttitta et al, 2004). In this paper, we present the findings of the first mesoscale study on larval fish assemblages that characterize the coastal waters of central Greece during summer (July 1998, June 1999.…”