Diversity, distribution, and abundance patterns of ichthyoplankton assemblages in some inlets of the northern Persian Gulf

Abstract

Abstract Distribution patterns of fish at early life stages can have profound effects on their development and survival. Here, diversity, distribution, and abundance patterns of ichthyoplankton assemblages were investigated in some inlets of the northern Persian Gulf during 2013–2014. A total of 21,440 fish larvae belonging to 30 families were identified, with Clupeidae, Gobiidae and Sillaginidae being the most dominant families. Spatial segregation of stations and species-environmental ordination patterns were observed according to multivariate analyses. Two larger inlets and one which had freshwater input supported higher abundances of fish larvae, whereas the smallest inlet and the sea station were dominated by fish eggs. The highest and the lowest abundances of ichthyoplankton were observed in April and December, respectively. Our results suggest that there are temporal and spatial variations in ichthyoplankton assemblages of the northern Persian Gulf. Both generalized linear mixed model and distance-based redundancy analysis revealed that water temperature, transparency, and depth were the key variables affecting the larval fish abundance. The results of this study provide valuable insights into fish larval ecology in shallow subtropical estuaries and inlets and help to explore how fish larvae respond to space–time environmental conditions.