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SWFSC » Ichthyoplankton

(9 objects, created 1/27/2010)

Album: This is a private album that is not visible to anonymous users Ichthyoplankton

Summary: Ichthyoplankton are the eggs and larvae of fish and invertebrates found mainly in the upper 200 meters of the water column, also called the near-surface waters. The eggs are passive and drift in the ocean along with the water currents. Most fish larvae have almost no swimming ability initially, however by half way through their development they are active swimmers. Ichthyoplankton are a relatively small but vital component of total zooplankton. They feed on smaller plankton and are prey themselves for larger animals. It is important to study ichthyoplankton because the abundances of eggs and larvae of several species have been demonstrated to be a good indicators of the transient spawning population size of the adults.

The Fisheries Resources Division houses one of the foremost ichthyoplankton ID laboratories in the world. Researchers visit from around the globe to look at the collection, to verify or compare their samples with ours, and to receive training on ichthyoplankton identification from our world class experts. Their job is to sort, identify, measure, and count the ichthyoplankton collected during SWFSC's research surveys. They routinely identify eggs and larvae from the eastern, central, and tropical Pacific.

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