Spring northward juvenile migration of the Patagonian grenadier (Macruronus magellanicus) from the Northwest Patagonian waters of Chile

Abstract

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Important nursery grounds for Patagonian grenadier (Macruronus magellanicus) are located mainly in the Northwest Patagonian Inner Sea (42ºS-44ºS), from which juvenile must to disperse or migrate offshore, then along the Chilean coast either northward or southward. The objective of this paper was to estimate northward spring juvenile migration of the Patagonian grenadier from nursery to feeding areas, which are located near Talcahuano (35º00’S-37º10’S). Length-frequency data (LFD) were obtained from an acoustic survey carried out in November 1999, which covered from 35ºS to 47ºS. Generalized linear model was used to describe the presence of juvenile per latitude and depth, and to infer the origin and displacement of juveniles. Subsequently, LFD data were grouped according to latitudinal strata. Grouped LFD were decomposed into normal component groups, from which mean, standard deviation and proportion were estimated from the mixed LFD. The average length of the identified groups were sorted from south to north, and linked to compute significant increment in fish length and age per kilometers. The length increment per time was not due to growth, rather they was due to spatial displacement of juvenile from southern nursery grounds to northern feeding areas. Although homing to feeding areas and/or high residency (partial migration) have been postulated, it seems that recruitment of juveniles to northern feeding areas are origintaed from NPIS nurseries. The West Wind Drift Current seems to be the main drive for dispersion of Patagonian grenadier to recruit northward in open waters along the continental shelf.

Keywords

• Latin America
• connectivity
• Patagonia
• juvenile
• ontogenetic movement