Day and Nighttime Changes in Species Composition of Deep-Sea Demersal Fishes

Species compositions of deep-sea demersal fishes were compared during the day and at night in two cruises of KT-01-8 and KT-02-5. A total of 742 individuals belonging to 28 species were collected in four day and four night hauls in KT-01-8, and in KT-02- 5 128 individuals belonging to 33 species were sampled in three night and four day hauls. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed that there were two distinct groups corresponding to sampling time in both cruises, although in KT-02-5 the species composition from the first haul sampled after sunrise was similar to those found in night hauls. This suggests that the species composition of deep-sea demersal fishes changes between day and night. The existence of a time lag between the sea surface and the sea floor was also suggested, lag being 2–4 hr at 500 m depths in the study area. There may be two possible explanations for the change in deep-sea demersal fish composition between daytime and nighttime: the artificial effect of successive sampling design, and actual fish migration. Since the artificial effect would not be sufficient to explain the change of demersal fish composition, the vertical or horizontal movements of deep-sea demersal fishes would contribute to the faunal change between daytime and nighttime in the study areas.