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The Upper Gulf of California is an important Biosphere Reserve which, despite of its extreme environmental, houses high fish species richness. A three-dimensional intensive prospection of fish larvae was made during June 2008 as part of multidisciplinary project PANGAS-III. From 56 zooplankton sampling stations with three depth levels (each 5 m deep), a total of 31,057 fish larvae were collected. Bray-Curtis Index defined three main spawning areas named according their location: i) The “Vaquita Refuge” habitat, which coincided with the refuge limits established by the managing program, was characterized by the highest abundance of Anchoa spp associated to demersal species. The highest salinity, temperature and chlorophyll fluorescence values distinguished this habitat from the rest of the reserve. ii) The “Buffer zone” habitat, defined south of Punta Borrascoso to Puerto Peñasco, had the highest specific richness and larval abundance. Coastal pelagic species such as Anchoa spp. and Opisthonema sp1 dominated the habitat which was characterized by high dissolve oxygen and zooplankton biomass. iii) The “Puerto Peñasco-San Jorge” is the less diverse larval habitat. It´s dominated by Opisthonema sp1, with presence of epipelagic species of Scombridae, probably as an extension of their spawning area in the adjacent deeper zones to the south. Despite the strong tidal mixing recorded, we found fish spawning habitats with well-defined limits that coincided with marked environmental gradients. These habitats may change in each season and due the interaction with the Northern Gulf of California circulation, probably with implications for the management of the Reserve.

Palabras clave: cambio climático; Alto Golfo de California; habitat de desove

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