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Early ontogeny of the mackerel icefish, Champsocephalus gunnari, in the southern Scotia Arc

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Abstract

During the early ontogeny of fishes, the timing and duration of key events such as larval hatching and the switch from endogenous to exogenous feeding largely determine the offspring viability and survival. The aim of the present study was to investigate the life history traits of the early larvae of the mackerel icefish, Champsocephalus gunnari, collected in summer south of the South Shetland Islands in the Bransfield Strait and north of Elephant Island. Through the analysis of sagittal otolith microstructure, we assessed the timing and duration of egg incubation, larval hatching, first exogenous feeding, rate of yolk resorption and body growth rate. Compared to populations living further north (i.e. around South Georgia and Kerguelen Islands), mackerel icefish in the southern Scotia Arc exhibits longer egg incubation (lasting 90–120 days from winter to summer) and delayed hatching time spread over a relatively short period lasting 26 days between January and February. The first exogenous feeding takes place between 13 and 24 days after hatching still in the presence of the yolk-sac, indicating a prolonged mixed feeding afterward. The specific growth rate or daily percentage change in size (G) was 1.9 % SL day−1, corresponding to a daily growth rate at mean size of 0.31 mm day−1. While showing significant differences in early life history traits across their geographical distribution, C. gunnari populations share a common strategy, spawning a small number of large eggs that hatch in relatively large-sized larvae, at a time which may be independent of the timing of pack-ice retreat and onset of the production cycle.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the U.S. AMLR scientific staff, and the crew members and personnel aboard the R/V Moana Wave for their support in sampling activities. This study was supported by the PNRA (Italian National Antarctic Research Program). We are very grateful to three anonymous referees for their helpful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ISMAR-CNR, Istituto di Scienze Marine, Sede di Ancona, Largo Fiera della Pesca, 60125, Ancona, Italy

    Mario La Mesa

  2. ISPRA, Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale, Via di Casalotti 300, 00166, Rome, Italy

    Barbara Catalano

  3. Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche (LOV), CNRS UMR 7093 Université Paris VI, Station Zoologique, La Darse, BP 28, 06230, Villefranche-Sur-Mer, France

    Philippe Koubbi

  4. Antarctic Ecosystem Research Division, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, 8901 La Jolla Shores Dr, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA

    Christopher D. Jones

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  1. Mario La Mesa
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  2. Barbara Catalano
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  3. Philippe Koubbi
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  4. Christopher D. Jones
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Correspondence to Mario La Mesa.

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Mesa, M.L., Catalano, B., Koubbi, P. et al. Early ontogeny of the mackerel icefish, Champsocephalus gunnari, in the southern Scotia Arc. Polar Biol 36, 797–805 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-013-1304-x

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