FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 75, NO. 1 



length-frequency data (Table 6). Two distinct 

 length modes occurred in March, which suggested 

 the presence of both a winter-spawned and a 

 spring-spawned group. 



Distribution Trends 



Peak abundances for dominant species within 

 the coastal assemblage generally occurred at 

 stations 6 and 9 (Figure 7) for those larvae that 

 were most abundant before the usual months of 

 upwelling (e.g., P. vetulus, Ammodytes hexap- 

 terus) and also for those most abundant during the 

 upwelling season (e.g., Osmeridae, /. isolepis, M. 

 proximus). Abundance usually decreased toward 

 the coast and farther offshore. However, on two 



winter cruises, osmerids were most abundant at 

 the 2-km station. A few species, such as C. asper, 

 were always most abundant at the 2-km station, 

 and numbers decreased with distance from shore. 

 Cottus asper is known to spawn in Yaquina Bay 

 where it is the third most abundant larval species 

 (Pearcy and Myers 1974). It is found in greatest 

 numbers in the upper part of the Bay, and its 

 occurrence offshore probably is a result of tidal 

 flushing. 



Year to Year Variation 



The mean standardized number of larvae per 

 station during the winter and spring-summer 

 periods was considerably higher in 1971 than in 



Parophr ys vetulus 



175 

 150 

 125 

 100 

 75 

 50 

 25 

 100 

 75 

 50 

 25 

 50 

 25 

 25 

 25 

 25 

 



FEB 



MAR 



_l_l_ 



APR 



MAY 



JUN 



~m — l — l — I — l — I — I — I 1 - 



2 69 18 28 37 46 56 65 74 93 



STATIONS 



JUL 



Ammodytes hexapterus 



10 

 80 

 70 

 60 

 50 

 40 

 30 

 20 

 10 

 10 

 10 

 10 

 10 

 



i-r-T 1 1 1 1 1 1 [- 



.11 . 



FEB 



MAR 



APR 



MAY 



JUN 



~rn — I — I — I — l — I I I T 



269 18 28 37 46 56 65 74 93 



STATIONS 



JUL 



Cottus asper 



— m — i — I — i — i — i — i r 



FEB 



MAR A 



II 



APR 



MAY 



JUN 



JUL 



n — i — i — i — i : i r~ 



18 28 37 46 56 65 74 93 



STATIONS 



OSMERIDAE 



Microqadus proximus 



Iso psetta isole pis 



50 



50 



50 



400 



350 



150 



100 



50 



650 



600 



400 



350 



300 



250 



200 



150 



100 



50 



150 



100 



50 







tt — I — I — I — I — i — I — I r 

 O 



FEB 



Jl^ 



MAR 



APR 



MAY 



JUN 



JUL 



TTT T l T — l — l — l — I 1 1— 



269 18 28 37 46 56 65 74 93 III 

 STATIONS 



10 



15 



10 

 30 

 20 



10 

 30 

 20 



10 

 40 



50 

 20 



10 

 20 



10 

 



2 69 18 28 37 46 56 65 74 93 III 



STATIONS 



25 

 50 

 25 

 25 

 125 

 100 

 75 

 50 

 25 

 50 

 25 

 25 

 



269 18 28 37 46 56 65 74 93 

 STATIONS 



FIGURE 7. — Distribution patterns offish larvae in the coastal assemblage (stations 2 to 28) during months of peak abundance in 1971. 



Abundances are monthly means. 



136 



