Directorate of Natural Resources, Fisheries Department, P.O. Box 598, Stanley, FIQQ 1ZZ, Falkland Islands.
J Fish Biol. 2012 Apr;80(5):1704-26. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2012.03260.x.
The eastern Patagonian Shelf and continental slope of the south-west Atlantic Ocean support a high biodiversity and abundance of skates. In this study, meso-scale differences in the assemblages, spatial and seasonal distributions of skates are revealed among six habitat zones of the eastern Patagonian Shelf characterized by distinctive oceanographic conditions. Most skates belonged to temperate fauna, and their abundance was much greater in habitats occupied by temperate waters (north-western outer shelf) or mixed waters (northern slope) than in habitats occupied by sub-Antarctic waters (SASW) (south-eastern outer shelf and southern slope). Sub-Antarctic skates were not abundant on the shelf even in habitats occupied by SASW, occurring mainly in deep areas of the lower continental slope. The majority of temperate skates migrated seasonally, shifting northward in winter and spreading southward with warming waters in summer. Most temperate species had two peaks in female maturity (mainly spring and autumn) and spawned in the same habitats where they fed. It is hypothesized that the high biodiversity and abundance of skates on the Patagonian Shelf and Slope are due to the practical absence of their natural competitors, flatfishes, which occupy similar eco-niches elsewhere.
东南巴塔哥尼亚陆架和西南大西洋大陆坡拥有丰富的生物多样性和大量的鳐鱼。在这项研究中，揭示了东南巴塔哥尼亚陆架六个具有不同海洋特征的栖息区中鳐鱼群落、空间和季节性分布的中尺度差异。大多数鳐鱼属于温带动物群，在温带水域（西北外陆架）或混合水域（北部斜坡）占据的生境中，其数量比在亚南极水域（SASW）占据的生境（东南外陆架和南部斜坡）中多得多。即使在 SASW 占据的生境中，亚南极鳐鱼也不丰富，主要出现在下部大陆斜坡的深水区。大多数温带鳐鱼季节性迁徙，冬季向北迁移，夏季随着水温升高向南扩散。大多数温带物种的雌性成熟有两个高峰期（主要是春季和秋季），并在其觅食的相同栖息地产卵。据推测，巴塔哥尼亚陆架和斜坡上鳐鱼的高生物多样性和丰富度是由于它们的天然竞争者——比目鱼的实际不存在所致，比目鱼在其他地方占据相似的生态位。
