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Cited by 27Marine and fisheries researchFish Biology and Ecology StudiesIchthyology and Marine Biology

Spatial distribution of tuna larvae in the Gulf of Gabes (Eastern Mediterranean) in relation with environmental parameters

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KOCHED, W., HATTOUR, A., ALEMANY, F., GARCIA, A., SAID, K.·2013·Mediterranean Marine Science
DOI 10.12681/mms.314
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Abstract

Spatial distribution and ecology of the larvae of three tuna species (Thunnus thynnus, Auxis rochei and Euthynnus alletteratus) were studied during an ichthyoplankton survey carried out in the Gulf of Gabes (Tunisia) in June and July 2009. A total of 80 stations, distributed on a regular sampling grid, were sampled. The main objectives of this survey were to provide information on tuna larvae distribution in the Gulf of Gabes in relation to the environmental parameters. Regarding small tunas, larvae of A. rochei (bullet tuna) showed the more widespread distribution, being found at both inshore and offshore stations. E. alletteratus (Atlantic black skipjack) larvae were mainly found at the inshore stations covering the wide continental shelf of this region. On the other hand, larvae of the large migratory tuna T. Thynnus (Atlantic bluefin tuna), were mainly recorded at offshore stations, suggesting that spawning possibly takes place mainly near the shelf break. Regarding the biological and physical parameters examined, our results indicate that tuna larvae were mainly collected in oligotrophic and mixed waters resulting from the confluence of surface water of recent Atlantic origin and resident surface Mediterranean waters, as shown by their preference for lower chlorophyll a concentrations (from 1.4 to 2.5 mg m-3) and moderate salinity values (between 37.35 and 37.75). Significantly, tuna larvae seemed to avoid the more eutrophic and saltier waters of the gulf situated very close to the coast and around Kerkennah and Djerba islands.

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  • Three Tuna species reproducing in the Mediterranean Sea-Atlantic Bluefin Tuna, Bullet Tuna, and Albacore Tuna-overlap their spatial ranges during the vulnerable reproductive phase and share spawning grounds and larval habitats.

    “Three Tuna fish species reproducing in the Mediterranean Sea also overlap their spatial ranges during the vulnerable reproductive phase, i.e., Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (ABT) (Thunnus thynnus, Linnaeus, 1758), Bullet Tuna (Auxis rochei, Risso, 1810) and Albacore Tuna (Thunnus alalunga, Bonnaterre, 1788).”

    From Environmental Conditions along Tuna Larval Dispersion: Insights on the Spawning Habitat and Impact on Their Development Stages (2022) · cites this paper as [35]

    The Introduction (p. 1) identifies all three named species as occurring in the Mediterranean, and the larval-abundance results (p. 5) place bluefin and bullet tuna larvae in the surveyed area. But the three species whose larvae the study found were bluefin, bullet tuna, and Atlantic black skipjack—not albacore. The paper therefore does not establish that all three species named in the claim overlap during reproduction or share spawning grounds and larval habitats. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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Authors
KOCHED, W., HATTOUR, A., ALEMANY, F., GARCIA, A., & SAID, K.
Affiliations
  • University of Monastir (TN)
  • Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer (TN)
  • Instituto Español de Oceanografía (ES)
ORCID
ALEMANY, F.
Venue
Mediterranean Marine Science
Publisher
National Documentation Centre (EKT)
Published
2013-03-19
Volume
14
Issue
1
Pages
5
ISSN
  • 1108-393X (ISSN-L)
  • 1791-6763
DOI
10.12681/mms.314
OpenAlex
W1971012902
Cited by
27
References
3
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 2
FWCI
2.79
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by-nc-sa
Locations
  • Mediterranean Marine Science (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • DIGITAL.CSIC (Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Consorzio Interuniversitario Nazionale per la Scienza e Tecnologia dei Materiali
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Marine and fisheries research
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Aquatic Science › Fish Biology and Ecology Studies
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Ichthyology and Marine Biology
Keywords
tuna larvae, spatial distribution, Thunnus thynnus, Auxis rochei, Euthynnus alletteratus, ichthyoplankton, Gulf of Gabès, spawning grounds, shelf break, chlorophyll a, salinity, oligotrophic waters, environmental parameters, continental shelf

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