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Patterns of spawning and recruitment of sea bass to Bristol Channel nurseries in relation to the 1996 ‘Sea Empress’ oil spill

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2003

W.J. Reynolds ,
J.E. Lancaster  and
M.G. Pawson
W.J. Reynolds*
Affiliation:
CEFAS, Remembrance Avenue, Burnham on Crouch, Essex, CM0 8HA, UK
J.E. Lancaster
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, University of Wales, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK
M.G. Pawson
Affiliation:
CEFAS, Pakefield Road, Lowestoft, Suffolk, NR33 0HT, UK
*
∫Corresponding author, e-mail: w.j.reynolds@cefas.co.uk
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Abstract

Young-of-the-year bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) were sampled from ten Bristol Channel sites during 1996, 1997 and 1998 to investigate whether the pattern of recruitment to south Wales nurseries observed following the ‘Sea Empress’ oil spill in spring 1996 was anomalous. Back-calculated egg fertilization (spawned) dates indicated that early spawning events (February–March) at the Trevose Head spawning area provide recruits to south Bristol Channel nurseries, and that the majority of recruits to south Wales nurseries arise from subsequent spawning events. Recruitment of post-larvae to all nurseries in the Bristol Channel starts in late June–early July. The late recruitment of 0-group bass to all nurseries in 1996 was attributed to lower water temperatures in February and March than in 1997 and 1998, and was not restricted to south Wales. However, 0-group bass were relatively less abundant in 1996 at sites nearest the ‘Sea Empress’ oil spill, suggesting a possible effect of the latter on survival of post-larvae in the nurseries, rather than during the offshore egg and larval stage.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 83 , Issue 5 , October 2003 , pp. 1163 - 1170
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2003

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