Características ambientales, reproducción y alimentación de la merluza (Merluccius hubbsi)y la anchoíta (Engraulis anchoita)en su habitatreproductivo patagónico. Síntesis y perspectivas

Abstract

Fish recruitment seems to be influenced by environmental variability;the plankton would act as a link between both processes. While environmental variability can be explained in terms of physical forcing, recruitment variability is partly determined by the survival of early larvae. In this review, the available information on hydrography and plankton in relation to reproduction and feeding of hake (Merluccius hubbsi)and anchovy (Engraulis anchoita)in the Patagonian Argentine Sea, SW Atlantic spawning ground was summarized and integrated. The objective was to assess what is actually known about the environmental and planktonic features of the region that may have an effect on the recruitment of both species. In the Patagonian spawning ground, detection, in summer, of two major frontal systems of different nature, with a high planktonic production that would coincide with the spawning and nursery areas of hake and anchovy must be mentioned. Hence, it is suggested to test for the local species some well-known hypotheses about the possible physically-mediated mechanisms that may have an impact on the growth and survival of larvae and juveniles