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Growth-selective survival of young jack mackerel Trachurus japonicus during transition from pelagic to demersal habitats in the East China Sea

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Abstract

To examine the growth-selective survival in early life stages of jack mackerel from the East China Sea, we compared growth rates of young fish collected from the surface layer in April with those of survivors collected from the near-bottom layer in May–June. We performed this analysis from 3 year classes with different levels of relative abundance: low in 2005, intermediate in 2008 and high in 2009. Growth rates during the larval stage of the original population were slower than the survivors in all survey years, indicating that faster-growing individuals in the surface layer had a higher probability of survival to the near-bottom habitat than slower-growing individuals. Selection intensity, defined as differences in growth rates between the two groups, was higher in year classes with a lower abundance. Hence, growth rates during the early life stages of jack mackerel are considered to be a critical determinant of successful survival to the demersal habitat.

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Acknowledgments

We are thankful to three anonymous reviewers for critical comments on this study. We are also thankful to T.W. Miller and R.R. Rykaczewski for helpful suggestions of this manuscript. We are grateful to the captains, officers, crews and scientists aboard the R/V Yoko-Maru and Kumamoto-Maru for obtaining fish samples. This study was partially supported by grants for Dynamics of commercial fish stocks: DoCoFis from the Fisheries Agency and Fisheries Research Agency, Japan.

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  1. Fisheries Research Agency, Seikai National Fisheries Research Institute, 1551-8 Taira-machi, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, 851-2213, Japan

    Motomitsu Takahashi, Chiyuki Sassa & Youichi Tsukamoto

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  1. Motomitsu Takahashi
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  2. Chiyuki Sassa
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  3. Youichi Tsukamoto
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Correspondence to Motomitsu Takahashi.

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Communicated by M. A. Peck.

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Takahashi, M., Sassa, C. & Tsukamoto, Y. Growth-selective survival of young jack mackerel Trachurus japonicus during transition from pelagic to demersal habitats in the East China Sea. Mar Biol 159, 2675–2685 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-012-2025-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-012-2025-3

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