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How do ocean currents affect the movements of young eels, cod, herring, and plaice?
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Migration
A herd of common wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) migrating across a dusty savanna in Africa. The animal is a keystone species (i.e., a species with a disproportionately large effect on its biological community) in plains and acacia savanna ecosystems from southeastern Africa to central Kenya.
Ocean currents play a critical role in the life cycles of many marine species by acting as a passive transport mechanism for their eggs and larvae, which drift with the water until they reach suitable habitats for development.12
- Eels: The successful recruitment of eels to Europe and North America depends on the Gulf Stream to transport their larvae from spawning sites in the Sargasso Sea to coastal waters.345
- Herring: Young herring often hatch on offshore spawning grounds and drift with currents to reach coastal nursery areas. For example, the Murman and Norwegian races of Atlantic herring drift with the North Atlantic Current toward the Barents and White Seas.6
- Cod and Plaice: Like many other marine fish, cod and flatfishes (such as plaice) produce pelagic eggs and larvae that drift with currents. These young fish remain in the plankton until they undergo metamorphosis, at which point they settle into their adult benthic or juvenile habitats.12
In these early stages, movement is largely passive, though some larvae can influence their horizontal transport by migrating vertically to access currents moving in different directions at varying depths.5