Nellen (1973) also found representatives of 10 families in the 
western Indian Ocean, eight of which were common to 
Ahlstrom’s families. 
Identification Bertelsen (1951). 
DISCUSSION 
The results presented in this paper represent the first major 
study of the ichthyoplankton of the Caribbean Sea. Very few 
studies have been carried out previously, and none have compre- 
hensively examined all the fish larvae. Further work is needed, es- 
pecially to measure the magnitude of reef fish larvae and to solve 
the complex recruitment patterns of reef fish (Richards 1982). 
Reef fish are the major commercial fish of the region and their 
larvae were especially abundant. Also abundant were the larvae of 
mid-depth fishes (myctophids, gonostomatids, and paralepidids). 
Though these fishes are not commercially important, they would 
appear to be an important source of prey for predators because of 
their abundance. The area lacks the large concentrations of 
clupeid resources, as seen in the Gulf of Mexico, due to lack of a 
large shelf area. Shelf species were found only along the northern 
coast of South America. This lack of a large shelf area greatly 
limits the potential of this area as a major source of commercial 
fish. Oceanic pelagic fishes, like the scombrids, were present in 
moderate abundance. These fish are highly migratory. They do 
not occur in major numbers as they do in the eastern Atlantic 
(Richards 1969). 
Oceanographic conditions are very stable in the Caribbean. 
Furthermore, the area has no major rivers emptying directly into 
the sea, nor a major cold current to transport nutrients. This 
stability precludes great abundances occurring there. The largest 
concentrations of larvae were seen off the northern coast of South 
America in an area of upwelling. The rest of the area is uniformly 
warm throughout the year, resulting in rather uniform distribu- 
tion and abundance of larvae. To carry out a more detailed 
quantitative comparison is not possible within the scope of this 
paper. Many of the species collected were not abundant enough to 
allow for more meaningful comparisons. The station pattern was 
not dense enough to measure the statistical validity of stations 
with zero catches of any one species. Further studies using denser 
grids of station patterns will allow for more conclusive abun- 
dances and provide for estimates of spawning stock size. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
I thank the following for assisting in the identification of some 
of the material: the late E.H. Ahlstrom, E. D. Houde, 
J. M. Leis, H. G. Moser, B. G. Nafpaktitis, and D. G. Smith. 
I also thank C. Flores Coto and the staff of the Mexico Oceanic 
Sorting Center for sorting eggs and larvae collected during the 
winter cruise, and those who participated on the FRV Oregon II, 
especially T. Potthoff, T. McKenney, J. Brucks, E. Hyman, 
G. Miller, and Captain R. E. Adams. T. Chewning wrote the 
computer program which greatly assisted the sorting of the data. 
Thanks go to Phyllis Fisher who typed the numerous drafts and 
to the following who read the paper and made helpful sugges- 
tions: E.D. Houde, B.B. Collette, S.L. Richardson, 
B. G. Nafpaktitis, M. McGowan, and C. Grall. 
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