Abstract
The embryonic drift pattern of amphidromous Rhinogobius species varies along river courses. It peaks soon after sunset in reaches with gentle gradient on the plains, whereas it occurs throughout the day in steep reaches. Examination of the size of the sagittal otolith and notochord length indicated that the age of embryos drifting in steep reaches varied widely, ranging from 0 to 7 days. Many had exhausted their yolk. We attributed the all-day drift in steep reaches to retention of drifting embryos in slack waters or eddies near the banks. In contrast, most embryos drifting in reaches with gentle gradients were recently-hatched individuals. We estimated that in normal or low river flow most embryos from the upstream reaches perish through starvation before they reach the sea.
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Moriyama, A., Yanagisawa, Y., Mizuno, N. et al. Starvation of drifting goby larvae due to retention of free embryos in upstream reaches. Environmental Biology of Fishes 52, 321–329 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007333302864
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007333302864