This study presents a broad-scale view of larval fish species distributions in the eastern Central and North Atlantic and places it in a hydrographic context. Pelagic fish larvae, including metamorphic stages, were sampled to 1000 m depth across a 46° latitudinal transect from the equator to the Bay of Biscay. By analysing species composition and relating it to hydrographic parameters, we were able to identify 5 assemblages: Equatorial, Tropical, Subtropical, Temperate-bloom and Temperate-nobloom. We also categorized 4 groups of species by association with specific hydrographic parameters. Tropical species, including Vinciguerria nimbaria, Ceratoscopelus warmingii, and Hygophum macrochir, are associated with high sea surface temperature. Tropical-subtropical species, such as Diogenichthys atlanticus, Benthosema suborbitale and Electrona risso, are associated with high temperature in the upper 200 m, i.e. the epipelagic zone. The Temperate species group, dominated by Benthosema glaciale and Maurolicus muelleri, is associated with high chlorophyll-a in the epipelagic zone, and these species were abundant where the spring bloom occurred. Species with the broadest latitudinal distributions, such as Cyclothone braueri and Argyropelecus hemigymnus, here termed Cosmopolitan species, are associated with high salinity in the epipelagic zone. The Cape Verde Frontal Zone seems to act as a one-way distributional barrier, confining many Tropical larval species to the South Atlantic Central Water mass, while allowing more northerly-distributed species to cross southward. This may be related to a dependence of Tropical species on high near-surface water temperatures, which decrease sharply at the Cape Verde Frontal Zone. An oxygen minimum zone had no significant effect on larval abundance or species richness, although there were some taxonomic differences. For example, phosichthyids, including Vinciguerria nimbaria, were not found within the oxygen minimum zone, while the family Melamphaidae thrived. Our results suggest that the dominant hydrographic factors that affect the distribution of fish larvae in the eastern Central and North Atlantic vary by latitude and by species. The Cape Verde Frontal Zone and oxygen minimum zone play complex roles, affecting different taxonomic groups in various ways.

这项研究提供了中东部大西洋和北大西洋东部幼体鱼类物种分布的广泛视角，并将其置于水文环境中。从赤道到比斯开湾，在46°的经纬线上取样了包括变质阶段在内的浮游鱼类幼虫。通过分析物种组成并将其与水文参数相关联，我们能够识别出5种组合：赤道，热带，亚热带，温带花和温带无花。我们还根据特定的水文参数将4种物种分类。包括Vinciguerria nimbaria，Ceratoscopelus warmingii和Hygophum macrochir在内的热带物种与海表温度升高有关。热带亚热带物种，例如大西洋上的Diogenichthys，Benthosema subbitbitale和Electron risso与上部200 m（即上层带）的高温有关。温带品种群，通过主导Benthosema冰川和Maurolicus muelleri，与相关的高叶绿素a的epipelagic区域，这些物种较丰富的春天盛开发生的位置。纬度分布最广的物种，例如Cycyone braueri和Argyropelecus hemigymnus，被称为世界性物种，与上层带的高盐度有关。佛得角额叶地带似乎是一种单向分布的屏障，将许多热带幼虫物种限制在南大西洋中央水域，同时允许更多向北分布的物种向南穿越。这可能与热带物种对高近地表水温的依赖有关，在佛得角额叶带急剧下降。尽管存在一些分类学差异，但最低限氧区对幼虫的丰度或物种丰富度没有显着影响。例如，包括Vinciguerria nimbaria在内的磷脂在Melamphaidae家族蓬勃发展的同时，没有在最低氧气区域内找到。我们的研究结果表明，影响中大西洋东部和北大西洋鱼类幼体分布的主要水文因素因纬度和物种而异。佛得角额叶区和最低氧区起着复杂的作用，以各种方式影响不同的生物分类群。