Ichthyoplankton of the Southern Waters of the North Atlantic: 2. Species Composition and Distribution Features

Abstract

The species composition of ichthyoplankton in the open waters of the North Atlantic at the cross-section from 30° N to the equator is considered. The study was performed during the 43rd expedition of R/V Akademik Vavilov. The cross-section passed through the central and southern peripheral waters of the Northern Subtropical Anticyclonic Circulation and also crossed the waters of the Northern Tropical Anticyclonic Circulation. Larvae and juveniles of 121 taxonomic forms were found in the ichthyoplankton. The species diversity in the section increases from north to south: the largest number of species is noted in the Northern Tropical Anticyclonic Circulation waters due to the presence of coastal species larvae. At the northern sampling stations, among members of Myctophidae, species with a wide-tropic type of range were found; along the way toward the equator, there appear species with central, central-peripheral, and equatorial-tropical types of range.