Short communication: Ecological larval fish groups in Chabahar Bay in relation to day/night and monsoon variations

Abstract

Studies on larval fish abundance allow important inferences about the spawning grounds, reproduction season and migration pattern of fishes (Goulding, 1980; Pavlov, 1994). Larval densities can also be used to estimate the abundance index, which in turn can be correlated to the fisheries yield, and provide an alternative approach for measuring the size of the spawning stock (Smith and Richardson, 1977). Previous studies in this ecosystem have focused on the abundance of fish larva without consideration of daily fish larva variations (Thangaraja, 1987, 1989, 1991; Thangaraja and Al-Aisry, 2001; Rabbaniha et al., 2014). SanvicenteAñorve et al. (2000) reported that seasonality and day/night variations seem to play an important role on larval fish abundance and composition. In this research we consider the monsoon as an important phenomenon, affecting the daily fish larval distribution.