Ichthyoplankton of the southern Gulf of Mexico. A compendium

The Zooplankton laboratory of the Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnologia, UNAM, had studied for about 25 years the ichthyoplankton from the southern Gulf of Mexico. The objectives have been to determine which species exist, where are they distributed, their abundance, which communities form, how do they vary and why. It has been recorded the presence of at least 306 species, distributed on 283 genus and 120 families of fish larvae. Diversity and abundance appear as opposite parameters, the higher abundance occurs in coastal areas and mid shelf, diminishing towards oceanic zone. In contrast the diversity is higher in oceanic areas, continental edge and decreases in coastal areas. This distribution shows a recurrent pattern. In general, the distribution and abundance of larvae are determined by the spawning area and season of the adults, food availability, and physical process, mainly currents, continental water discharges, and mixing processes. The vertical distribution of larvae in the water column probably depends on the habitat of adults. Larvae of coastal dwelling adults, tend to occupy mainly the 30 m surface layer, whereas larvae of oceanic parents, generally occupy layers deeper than 50 m. All larvae tend to be more dispersed at night. It has been determined four recurrent communities: a) Coastal, b) Internal Neritic, c) External Neritic and d) Oceanic.