Seasonal contrast of water masses and larval fish habitats at the entrance of the Gulf of California

Abstract

Based on satellite and in situ data and larval fish distributions obtained from two cruises during April 2012 (cold period) and September 2016 (warm period), larval fish habitats were analyzed in relation to the water masses that converge at the entrance of the Gulf of California. The distribution of environmental variables and the ocean upper layer water masses showed a clear-cut seasonal contrast. During April 2012, the Gulf of California Water extended southward to ∼21^oN, while in September 2016, the Transitional Water expanded northward to ∼23^oN to dominate the entrance of the Gulf of California as the Gulf of California Water retreated to the interior gulf. In addition, mesoscale eddies were frequently observed in both periods, mostly cyclonic in April 2012, and anticyclonic in September 2016. Multivariate analyses defined two larval fish habitats in each period: North and South of a boundary between 22 and 22.5^oN. The larval structure of the North larval fish habitat varied in both composition and abundance between periods, although the dominant species in both periods were Vinciguerria lucetia above the thermocline and Diogenichthys laternatus in the layer beneath the thermocline. These species had a higher abundance in April 2012 than in September 2016. The South larval fish habitats also had differences in their larval structures in the two periods, but Bregmaceros bathymaster was the dominant species, with the highest abundance in April 2012. The definition of the larval fish habitats and their changes in structure were associated with the seasonal contrast of the water masses, but the limits of the larval fish habitats were modulated by the mesoscale structures. The spawning of most species is seasonally controlled, but the dominant ones showed signs of resilience to environmental changes. This study displayed the influence of two different environmental scales on the fish larvae community, which might be a pattern in other regions of water mass convergence.