Poleward transport of equatorial fish larvae in the Atlantic Eastern Boundary Current system.

John, H.-C., Zelck, C. and Erasmi, W. (2000) Poleward transport of equatorial fish larvae in the Atlantic Eastern Boundary Current system. Open Access Archive of Fishery and Marine Research, 48 (1). pp. 61-88.

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Abstract

Fish larval distributions support the hypothesis that East: Atlantic "upwelling" undercurrents are interconnected, and can entrain plankton from the Equatorial Undercurrents towards temperate latitudes. This conclusion is based on historic and recently collected data on the distribution of adults and larvae of mainly two equatorial, mesopelagic fish species Bathylagus argyrogaster and Hygophum macrochir and consistent with hydrographic data. Along the continental slope these larvae occur 440 to 920 km polewards of the reproductive ranges of their adults. Larval B. argyrogaster occurs mainly below the thermocline and reaches farther polewards than larval H. macrochir, which dwells mainly at thermocline depths. At tropical latitudes the larvae of both species occur frequently, and within a generally poleward flow. Immediately polewards of the Cape Verde Frontal Zone, and Angola-Benguela Frontal Zone, respectively, the larvae become rare and more deeply distributed. At these fronts the poleward flows are thought to submerge below the equatorward flows of the Canary Current and Benguela Current, and to form theslope-undercurrents of the Northwest and Southwest African upwelling systems. Larvae in these undercurrents reach minimum latitudes of 22 degrees N and 23 degrees 30'S. At the poleward flanks of East Atlantic cyclonic gyres,such as the Guinea Dome, Central Mauritanian Gyre, and Angola Dome, retroflections of the poleward current systems occur, also entraining and transporting larvae offshore.

Document Type: Article
Keywords: Physical Oceanography; ANGOLA-BENGUELA FRONT; CIRCULATION; FEATURES
Research affiliation: OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB1 Ocean Circulation and Climate Dynamics > FB1-PO Physical Oceanography
Refereed: Yes
Open Access Journal?: No
Publisher: Urban & Fischer
Date Deposited: 18 Feb 2008 17:24
Last Modified: 27 Feb 2019 08:53
URI: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/4784

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