Early life history of a catadromous sculpin in western Japan

To clarify the early life history of Cottus kazika (Cottidae), the ontogeny, osteology, distribution, migration and food habit were examined based on larvae and juveniles collected from coasts and estuaries in western Japan. The sequence of fin completion was pectoral (P1)-dorsal soft-ray part (D2)-anal (A)-dorsal spine part (D1)-pelvic (P2). However, that of calcification was P1-P2-D1-D2-A. Larvae and juveniles of C. kazika are distinguished from those of coastal sculpins of Japan by large preopercle spines, conspicuous parietal spines, the large and densely pigmented pectoral fin and the relatively deep body. C. kazika and Myoxocephalus polyacanthocephalus plus Enophrys bison share these four ontogenetic characters. From the relationship between the growth ring count on the sagittae and total length, the size of embryos at hatching is estimated at 5.2 mm. Larvae are estimated to reach 7 mm in 10 days, 9 mm in 20 days and 11 mm in 30 days after hatching. Hatching dates for larvae collected in the Shimanto estuary in 1987 peaked during the period around the new moon in January. Many free embryos ranging from 4.3 to 5.9 mm were collected using an aqualamp at a rocky shore outside the Yura River mouth, at high salinity (> 33 ppt), but none were collected in the estuary. From beach samples, seasonal changes in body size varied from year to year, and no consistent growth pattern was found, although juveniles were generally larger in late March and April than in January and February. Very few larvae were collected along shorelines where there were no adjacent rivers. Food habit of larvae and juveniles changed with growth. Polychaete larvae, cladocerans and copepods were found in preflexion larvae less than 6 mm. Gammarids were one of the important food items for larvae over 6 mm. Juveniles over 12 mm almost exclusively fed on gammarids. In the Shimanto estuary, larvae and juveniles stayed near the river mouth in January and February, within a stagnant layer where temperature and salinity remained about 12 °C and 20 ppt, respectively. Juveniles tended to move in March when the stagnant layer disappeared in the estuary.