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Journal of Marine Biology
Volume 2011 (2011), Article ID 945734, 12 pages
doi:10.1155/2011/945734
Research Article

Aggregation of Euphausia sibogae during Summer Monsoon along the Southwest Coast of India

K. J. Jayalakshmi,1,2 P. Jasmine,1,3 K. R. Muraleedharan,1 M. P. Prabhakaran,1,4 H. Habeebrehman,1,5 Josia Jacob,1,6 and C. T. Achuthankutty1,7

1National Institute of Oceanography Regional Centre, Dr. Salim Ali Road, P.O. Box 1913, Kochi 682 018, India
2Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology, Ministry of Earth Sciences, 6th floor, Block C, Kendriya Bhavan, Kakkanad, Kochi 682 037, India
3Zoological Survey of India, Prani Vigyan Bhawan, M-Block, New Alipore, Kolkata 700053, India
4School of Marine Sciences, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi 682016, India
5Marine Environment and Wild Life Section, Environment Department, Government of Dubai, P.O. Box 67, UAE
6Centre for Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Banglore 560 012, India
7National Centre for Antarctic & Ocean Research, Ministry of Earth Science, Vasco-da-Gama, Goa 403 804, India

Received 28 January 2011; Revised 10 June 2011; Accepted 4 July 2011

Academic Editor: Eduardo Suárez-Morales

Copyright © 2011 K. J. Jayalakshmi et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

The influence of environmental parameters on the spawning aggregation of Euphausia sibogae was investigated along the southwest coast of India during the peak phase of summer monsoon 2005. The prevailing ecological conditions between the aggregation period (peak phase) and non-aggregation period (early phase) were also compared. The aggregation was observed at station 1 ( 8 ∘ N ; 7 6 . 5 ∘ E , 480 ind·m−3) and 6 ( 1 0 ∘ N ; 7 5 . 5 ∘ E , 839 ind.m−3) during the peak phase of the summer monsoon. Eggs (14769 eggs m−3) and different developmental stages were observed in higher abundance at station 6. The physicochemical conditions indicated that the aggregation coincided with the upwelling. The nutrient enrichment due to the upwelling triggered phytoplankton blooms, and this appeared to provide a conducive environment for spawning and development of E. sibogae.