Sánchez-Velasco, L., D.C., Gutiérrez-Moreno, S.P.A., Jiménez-Rosenberg, R., Camacho-Gastélum & V.M., Godínez (2025). Fish larvae distribution and hydrographic processes off Cabo Pulmo National Park, entrance of the Gulf of California, during an oceanographic cruise (October 2022). Regional Studies in Marine Science. 90: 104430. DOI: 10.1016/j.rsma.2025.104430.
Laura Sánchez-Velasco 1, Diana Carolina Gutiérrez-Moreno, Sylvia Patricia Adelheid Jiménez-Rosenberg 1, Rosabel Camacho-Gastélum y Víctor M. Godínez
Cabo Pulmo National Park (CPNP), located on the southwest coast of the Gulf of California, has strong interaction with neighboring ecosystems. This study analyzed the distribution of fish larvae in relation to hydrography and modeled local currents off CPNP in October 2022. Zooplankton samples were collected at three depth levels (surface mixed layer, thermocline and below it) along four transects perpendicular to the coast. A strong water column stratification was observed, with the thermocline located at approximately 60 m depth. The highest mean larval abundance (19 larvae 100 m3) and specific richness (23 species) were found in the surface mixed layer, where the demersal species Caranx caballus, Hyporhamphus rosae, Myrophis vafer, Scarus spp. were identified as indicators species. Lower mean larval abundance (< 14 larvae per 100 m3) and specific richness (< 17 species) were recorded in the thermocline and below it, where the oceanic species Diaphus pacificus, Bathylagoides wesethi and Diogenichthys laternatus were the indicators. The distribution of demersal and oceanic species by development stage revelated a semicircular movement from coast to the open ocean in the northernmost transect (preflexion larvae), and a north-to-south drift over the most oceanic stations (posflexion larvae). This pattern aligned with the modeled local currents, which showed a slope current (~ 0.4 m s-1) flowing northwestward off CPNP, influencing coastal stations, and an equatorward flow (< 0.2 m s-1) coming from the Gulf of California, affecting the oceanic stations. We concluded that the surface local currents drive the dispersal routes of the fish larvae from both demersal and oceanic species that spawn in and around CPNP, allowing recruitment there.
Palabras clave: Fish larvae abundance; Larval fish ecology; vertical distribution; Cabo Pulmo National Park; Entrance of the Gulf of California
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