Seamount egg-laying grounds of the deepwater skate Bathyraja richardsoni (Garrick 1961)

Henry, L-A, Stehmann, MFW, de Clippele, L, Findlay, HS, Golding, N and Roberts, JM 2016 Seamount egg-laying grounds of the deepwater skate Bathyraja richardsoni (Garrick 1961). Journal of Fish Biology, 89 (2). 1473-1481. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.13041

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Abstract/Summary

Highly localized concentrations of elasmobranch egg capsules of the deep-water skate Bathyraja richardsoni were discovered during the first remotely operated vehicle (ROV) survey of the Hebrides Terrace Seamount in the Rockall Trough, north-east Atlantic Ocean. Conductivity–temperature–depth profiling indicated that the eggs were bathed in a specific environmental niche of well-oxygenated waters between 4·20 and 4·55∘ C, and salinity 34·95–35·06, on a coarse to fine-grained sandy seabed on the seamount’s eastern flank, whereas a second type of egg capsule possibly belonging to the skate Dipturus sp.) was recorded exclusively amongst the reef-building stony coral Solenosmilia variabilis. The depths of both egg-laying habitats (1489–1580 m) provide a de facto refuge from fisheries mortality for younger life stages of these skates.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Additional Keywords:	Skate, Fish, Eggs, reproduction,
Subjects:	Ecology and Environment Fisheries Marine Sciences
Divisions:	Plymouth Marine Laboratory > Science Areas > Marine Ecology and Biodiversity
Depositing User:	Helen Findlay
Date made live:	26 Apr 2018 14:11
Last Modified:	25 Apr 2020 09:58
URI:	https://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/7660

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