Spatio-temporal distribution of Konosirus punctatus spawning and nursing ground in the South Yellow Sea

In recent years, Konosirus punctatus has accounted for a large portion in catch composition and become important economic species in the South Yellow Sea. However, the distribution of K. punctatus early life stages is still poorly understood. In this study, generalized additive models with Tweedie distribution were used to analyze the relationships between K. punctatus ichthyoplankton and environmental factors (longitude and latitude, sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface salinity (SSS) and depth), and predict distribution K. punctatus spawning ground and nursing ground, based on samplings collected in 6 months during 2014–2017. The results showed that K. punctatus’ spawning ground were mainly distributed in central and north study area (from 33.0°N to 37.0°N). By comparison, the nursing ground shifted southward, which were approximately located along central and south coast of study area (from 31.7°N to 35.5°N). The optimal models identified that suitable SST, SSS and depth for eggs were 19–26°C, 25–30 and 9–23 m, respectively. The suitable SSS for larvae were 29–31. The K. punctatus spawning habit might have changed in the past decades, which was a response to increasing SST and fishing pressure. That needs to be proved in further study. The study provides references of conservation and exploitation for K. punctatus.