Ichthyoplankton from a Tropical Estuary in the Central America Coast

Despite a constant fishery activity in the La Unión bay, El Salvador, there is a lack of information about which species are using the estuary as a nursery area during the early life stages. To describe the larval fish composition and abundance from La Unión bay, sampling was conducted in the inner and exterior part of the bay between January–September 2010. Results indicate that fish egg abundance increased with water clarity (R=0.57, p<0.05), and larval fish abundance increased with salinity (R=0.65, p<0.05). Of 44 taxa, the most abundant species were Pomadasys macracanthus (27.6%), Anchoa sp.1 (20.4%) and Engraulidae sp.4 (17.9%). Analysis of the monthly and spatial distribution showed that the highest larval fish abundance (H=55.1, df=8, p=0.00) and diversity (S=23, J=0.58, n=1.07) occurred during the dry season. The external portion of the bay is where larval fish and egg abundance were highest (H=13.6, df=5, P=0.02), and where the highest diversity was found (S=26, J=0.59, n=1.11). This is a first step in the study of ichthyoplankton in El Salvador, it provides insight regarding the fish community that uses the estuary during the larval stage and establishes a baseline for future studies in the field.