Javad GHASEMZADEH
Abstract
Fish larva surveys were conducted in the coastal waters of the Persian Gulf in Bushehr prov-ince during November 2001 to October 2002. The survey covered 10 stations between Farakeh estuary to Genaveh port, aiming to identify the fish larvae, their composition, abundance, and distribution patterns in relation to the measured hydrological factors. Fish larvae belonging to 20 families were identified and counted, and the total mean abundance was calculated as 8.1844 individuals per 10 m2. Families Clupeidae, Gobiidae and Sillaginidae had more relative abundances respectively. Based on their distribution behavior fish larvae were allocated to three different ecological groups as: benthic, epibenthic and pelagic. During cold season ben-thic group was dominant and Gobiidae was the indicator and representative family, whereas in warm season pelagic group was dominant with Clupeidae as the indicator family. Principal Component Analysis with supplementary analyses revealed more correlation between Sillag-inidae, Gerreidae, and Clupeidae with the dimdesc axes 1, while the composition and density of fish larvae were correlated with water depth and transparency. This correlation reduced in cold season. It appears that changes in the sea currents and local seasonal winds, were effective in the presence and abundance of fish larvae. Moreover, the spatial and temporal spawning pat-terns of broodstock fishes also played a key role in the composition and formation of the early larval assemblages.