ABSTRACT: The mobility pattern of the deep-water shrimp Aristeus antennatus (Risso, 1816) was studied off the Catalan coast (NW Mediterranean) over a 10 yr time scale. The study area comprises upper and middle slope depths and submarine canyons. This extended data set (1780 observations corresponding to 845 days over 10 years) confirmed and allowed refinement of previous hypotheses of A. antennatus large-scale mobility patterns. Our results show that this species follows a well-defined seasonal mobility pattern. It is more abundant on open slope areas (around 800 m depth) in late winter and spring. The larger fraction of the population moves in submarine canyons in late summer and autumn, towards shallower depths (around 500 m). This general pattern of population mobility is coupled with important sex and size segregation. Adult females are present year-round throughout the different habitats sampled, while the abundance of males and juveniles is higher in submarine canyons in autumn and early winter. The large-scale mobility pattern of A. antennatus is not common in deep-sea species. The relevance of our results is discussed in relation to the deep-water environment and the biological cycle of the species.

KEY WORDS: Aristeus antennatus · Mobility · Large scale · Temporal scale · Spatial scale · Deep-sea ecology · Mediterranean

Published in MEPS Vol. 159 (1997) on November 29
ISSN: 0171-8630. Copyright © Inter-Research, Oldendorf/Luhe, 1997