Spatial–Temporal Distribution of Fish Larvae in the Pearl River Estuary Based on Habitat Suitability Index Model

Abstract

The spawning grounds are important areas for the survival and reproduction of aquatic organisms and play an important role in the replenishment of fishery resources. The density of fish larvae in the Pearl River Estuary (PRE) was analyzed to establish Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) based on marine environmental factors. Survey data and satellite remote sensing data, including sea surface temperature, sea surface salinity and chlorophyll a concentration, from 2014 to 2017 during April–September were analyzed. Results showed that the accuracy of the HSI model based on the larval density and environmental factors was more than 60%, and the distribution trend of HSI was consistent with the distribution trend of larval density. The HSI models constructed based on Arithmetic Mean Model (AMM), Geometric Mean Model (GMM) and Minimum Model (MINM) methods can better predict the spatial–temporal distribution of larvae in the PRE. Among them, the accuracy of the HSI model constructed by the AMM and GMM methods was the highest in April (71%) and September (93%); the accuracy of the HSI model constructed by the MINM method was the highest in June (70%), July (84%) and August (64%). In general, the areas with high HSI values are mainly distributed in the offshore waters of the PRE. The spatial–temporal distribution of larvae in the PRE was influenced by monsoon, Pearl River runoff, Guangdong coastal currents and the invasion of high-salinity seawater from the outer sea.

Characteristics of demersal fish community structure during summer hypoxia in the Pearl River Estuary, China

“…Traditional investigation methods have been used to analyze the composition and species diversity of the fish community, as well as the impacts of environmental changes on these communities (Zhou et al., 2019 ). Studies have also focused on the early life history of fish, their trophic structure, and food webs (Wang et al., 2023 ; Xu et al., 2022 ; Zhou et al., 2022 ). With the development of high‐throughput technology, environmental DNA (eDNA)‐based methods have recently been applied to assess fish diversity in the PRE (Cheang et al., 2020 ; Zou et al., 2020 ).…”

Modelling Habitat Suitability of <em>Luciola cruciata</em> Based on Local Landscape Features

“…Species distribution models are useful to clarify the relationship between habitat conditions and species occurrence [17][18][19]. Species distribution models can predict the occurrence of a species in an uninvestigated area based on species-habitat relationships and have been applied for a wide variety of species from terrestrial to marine environments [20].…”