Spatial Distribution of Shelf- and Slope-Dwelling Fishes Collected by Bottom Longline off Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, Canary Islands

Abstract. A total of 1789 fish belonging to 38 families and 73 species were collected at depths between 18 and 1102 m during 216 bottom longline operations off Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, between February 1994 and December 1995. For each species the depth distribution is provided. Length-weight and depth-size relationships are reported for three shelf-dwelling species. The bigger-deeper relationship found in two of them contrasts with the bigger-shallower pattern of the deeper living trichiurid Lepidopus caudatus . In November 1997, nine additional bottom longline operations were carried out off eastern Fuerteventura at depths between 805 and 1217 m. In this area, after earlier studies in October 1995, a spawning aggregation of the morid Mora moro was encountered for the second time. The catches of 1997 revealed a strongly male-biased sex ratio. Also, the males showed a significantly lower gonadosomal index than two years earlier. These findings indicate slight interannual variations in reproductive timing and an earlier arrival of male Mora moro at the spawning grounds. Clear variations in the number of fish collected at adjacent sites possibly reflect a preference for distinct microhabitats. Preliminary evidence of local upwelling of cold water above the spawning grounds is provided by satellite imagery.     

Ontogenetic Shifts in Resource Use and Shoaling Tendency Related to Body Size in Red Sea Goatfish (Parupeneus forsskali, Mullidae)

Abstract. Red Sea goatfish show marked behavioral differences related to body size in food searching, substrate use, and shoaling tendency. While smaller fish mainly use their barbels to search for food hidden in the upper sediment layers or in crevices of corals, the largest fish frequently burrow with their mouths in deeper layers of the sediment. The conspecific shoaling tendency decreases with increasing size. Only smaller-sized fish are found in mixed-species shoals. The data are discussed with regard to the relations between ontogenetic changes in body size, resource utilization, and socialization patterns.