Winter longitudinal variation in the body size of larval fishes in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan

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Abstract

This study revealed the spatial variation in abun-dance and body size of larval fishes in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan, in January 2014 and 2015. Fish larvae were col-lected by a 1.3-m-diameter ring net towed at the surface and at 10-m depth at 21 stations. The most dominant spe-cies was the sandlance Ammodytes japonicus, constituting 82% of total larval fish caught. The body size of A. japoni-cus was greater [ca. 9 mm total length (TL) in 2014] in eastern areas than in western areas (ca. 5 mm TL in 2014). This trend was also observed in rockfishes (Sebastiscus marmoratus and Sebastes inermis species complex), sug-gesting a common phenomenon in this region. Because the water temperature was lower in eastern areas, it is likely that the longitudinal differences in larval body size are attributable to earlier spawning in eastern areas caused by different temperature conditions.

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