Spatial and temporal variability in larval connectivity of North Sea plaice Pleuronectes platessa between spawning grounds and coastal European nurseries

Abstract

Annual year-class strength in North Sea plaice Pleuronectes platessa Linnaeus, 1758 appears to be determined by the connectivity of eggs and larvae between open-sea spawning grounds and coastal nursery areas. Hydrodynamic modelling studies indicate that coastal nurseries can be supplied with larvae from multiple offshore spawning locations. To verify this, we compared relative size-frequency distributions of demersal juvenile plaice just after larval immigration between coastal nurseries as a proxy for larval origin. During 12 yr, up to 21 stations in the Dutch coastal zone and international Wadden Sea were visited and sampled at the beginning of May at the end of larval immigration. The results of the size-frequency analysis showed 2 distinct clusters of stations. The first cluster included all stations along the Dutch coast and Wadden Sea up to Wangerooge in the German East Frisian Wadden Sea, most likely dominated by supply from spawning grounds in the Southern Bight, with contributions from the English Channel and the Dogger Bank. The second cluster included all stations in the North Frisian Wadden Sea, most likely supplied from spawning grounds in the German Bight and near the Dogger Bank. The higher interannual variability in the first cluster might be caused by a larger variability in the relative contributions from multiple spawning areas (English Channel, Southern Bight, Dogger Bank). The comparison of the relative size-frequency distributions at the end of larval immigration introduced in this study may also be a useful tool for the validation of connectivity modelling studies in other areas and for other species.