Acasuso-Rivero, C., Holt, V., Demetriou, M., Lefkaditou, E., Miliou, A. Findings Of The Neon Flying Squid Ommastrephes bartramii (Cephalopoda: Ommastrephidae) In The Eastern Aegean Sea: Evidence Of Its Spawning Ground Expansion. 12th International Conference of the Hellenic Zoological Society 2012.

Introduction:

The neon flying squid is a cephalopod distributed in subtropical and partly temperate waters of both hemispheres. It is a migratory species which moves from subtropical spawning to subarctic feeding grounds. Females are generally larger than males, reaching a mantle length (ML) up to 900 mm. Within the Aegean (eastern Mediterranean) its reported frequency has increased considerably over time. The first sighting of this species on the South Aegean was reported in 1976. Findings in the Cretan Sea (South Aegean) have suggested a permanent population which forms dense schools at 200-250 m. Along the north coast of Crete there have been several strandings of large (mature) females. These facts have led to the proposal of the basin of Crete as an O. bartramii spawning ground. O. bartramii penetrates into warm and cold boundary currents travelling within subtropical gyres and is generally found at the sea surface between temperatures of 10 to 25°C [1]. It is proposed that its abundance is directly linked to water temperature and salinity, with temperature being the principal component of this correlation It has been described as a moderately high (150-300 gC/m2-yr) productivity ecosystem where the zooplankton biomass fluctuates within the year.