Abstract

Flyingfish occupy a crucial link in marine food webs and also commercially fished in many areas of the world. Understanding the distribution and abundance of flyingfish larvae can provide insight into the location of spawning areas and lead to an improved understanding of their population dynamics. Here we report on summer ichthyoplankton cruises conducted in the northern Gulf of Mexico (NGoM) during 2010 and 2011. Samples were collected using neuston nets towed through the upper meter of the water column in the outer shelf and slope waters of the NGoM. Over the sampling period, a total of 4338 flyingfish larvae were collected. Interannual differences were apparent with densities of flyingfish higher in 2010 than 2011 (7.5 and 2.3 larvae/1,000 m2, respectively). In 2010, flyingfish densities did not show any seasonal variation during the summer sampling period; however, in 2011, the flyingfish density in July (0.8 larvae/1,000 m2) was much lower than June (3.0 larvae/1,000 m2) and August (3.2 larvae/1,000 m2). Flyingfish were present in each year and month along our sampling transect, and percent frequency of occurrence ranged from 56% in July 2011 to 100% in July 2010. This suggests that flyingfish represent a common and important component of the larval assemblage in the NGoM. Research is currently underway to characterize the species composition of the flyingfish assemblage during the early life period, and models are being developed to investigate links between relative abundance of flyingfish larvae and oceano-graphic conditions in the NGoM.

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