Vol. 53 - Alaska Resources Library and Information Services

SI zoeae were first taken in March 1978 near Akutan Island.
While the
adults most commonly taken in this area include Eualus gamardi belcheri,
E. suckleyi, and E. stoneyi (Paul Anderson, NMFS, Kodiak, Alaska,
personal communication, October 1981), approximately five types of larval
hippolytids and their larval stages were delineated from 1976-1981
samples. The sheer number of possible species (about 20, see Table 6.2)
and lack of definitive larval descriptions for all species made further
identification impossible at this point. Assigning definite zoeal
stages is difficult because genera in this family have from 2 to 9
stages.
The five different types of larval hippolytids were staged, but
analysis of stage frequency and molt frequenty was not conducted. As
with the pandalids, sampling did not continue late enough in the summer
to document the timing of metamorphosis to the benthos.
Distribution and Abundance:
Ivanov (1969) states that adult hippolytids
generally dominate over shelf depths of 40 to 80 m. This may very well
be true, but the larvae apppeared to be a ubiquitous group, as prevalent
as the pandalids over the outer shelf domain at stations between the
100-200 m isobaths of the St. George Basin (Figs. 6.18, 6.19). In addition
to their wide distribution, abundance was commonly greater than
1000 larvae/100 m 2 over much of the St. George Basin and 1000-8000
larvae/100 m 2 beyond the shelf break and on either side of Unimak Pass.
Data of 1981 support this pattern of low density but wide distribution
over the middle shelf, higher densities over the central St. George
Basin of the outer shelf domain, and greatest aggregations beyond the
shelf break (Fig. 6.18).
The highest density (5600 larvae/100 m 2 ) for
1981 was taken at the southwest tip of Unimak Island. Variation between
742