The influence of mesoscale physical processes on the larval fish community in the Canaries CTZ, in summer

Abstract

We have studied the relation between the hydrography, the composition and horizontal structure of the larval fish community, and the horizontal distribution patterns of larval fish abundances in an area characterised by strong mesoscale oceanographic activity, located between the Canary Islands and the African coast (the Canaries Coastal Transition Zone), during August 1999. Upwelling, upwelling filaments, cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies and island wakes are typical mesoscale features of the northwest African coast in summer. A single upwelling filament off Cabo Juby was joined in mid-August by a second that originated about 100 km to the north. The two filaments flowed together and merged 100 km offshore. The merged filament was partially entrained around a cyclonic eddy, trapped between the Canary Islands and the African coast, and interacted with cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies shed from Gran Canaria. Mesoscale oceanographic features strongly influenced the horizontal distributions of fish larvae. Eddies acted as a mechanism of concentration, while upwelling filaments were dispersive, transporting larvae from the African neritic zone into oceanic areas and towards the Canary archipelago. This transport was the major cause of the predominance of neritic larvae in the composition of the larval fish community of the area. The results also suggest: (1) that anchovy larvae are good indicators of the offshore displacement of upwelled water; (2) that the alternation between anchovy and sardine as species dominant in the larval fish community of the area during summer depends upon the water temperature in the African upwelling region, anchovy dominating at higher temperature; (3) that a coupling of anchovy and sardine spawning with the mesoscale oceanographic structure formed by the upwelling filaments and trapped eddy overcomes the negative effect that Ekman transport has on their populations.