Feeding, Growth, and Survival of Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua) Larvae Reared in Replicate Plastic Enclosures

1993 ◽  
Vol 50 (5) ◽  
pp. 913-924 ◽  
Author(s):  
Håkon Otterå

Feeding, growth, and survival of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) larvae were examined during their first 2 mo of life. The experiment was carried out in eight plastic enclosures of 10 m3 volume each. Larval cod, at an initial stocking density of 10 larvae/L, were fed rotifers (Brachionus plicatilis) and natural zooplankton collected from the sea. The enclosures replicated well with regard to hydrography, feeding conditions, and larval growth and survival. Larval mortality was low during the first month, with a mean mortality rate (Z) of 0.02/d. Growth, however, was very slow and mortality increased significantly after about 4 wk, possibly due to starvation. Brachionus plicatilis dominated the gut content during the first 3–4 wk. The zooplankton concentration averaged 15–80 rotifers/L during the first 2 wk, which seemed to be insufficient under the present rearing conditions. Most of the larvae were distributed in the upper parts of the rearing enclosures, while rotifers were distributed deeper. This, together with the high larval density, inadequate rotifer enrichment, and low temperature probably amplified the unfavourable feeding conditions.

1989 ◽  
Vol 46 (S1) ◽  
pp. s171-s182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven E. Campana ◽  
Kenneth T. Frank ◽  
Peter C. F. Hurley ◽  
Peter A. Koeller ◽  
Fred H. Page ◽  
...  

To identify the life history stage(s) most influential in determining yearclass strength, we constructed and analyzed survival curves of the 1983, 1984, and 1985 cohorts of cod and haddock off Southwest Nova Scotia relative to their physical and biological environment. Relative abundance of each Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) yearclass was not reflected by egg or larval abundance in any year examined. However, abundance of both pelagic and settled juveniles did appear to reflect yearclass strength. Egg and larval mortality could not be consistently linked with advection from the spawning site, and did not covary with subsequent recruitment. In both species, mortality between the larval and juvenile stage was inversely correlated with yearclass strength, but sources of the mortality could not be identified. Larval growth was inversely related to mortality of the early larval stage and independent of larval abundance. However, juvenile growth was proportional to mortality and inversely related to abundance. Despite early life coexistence and similarities in spawning time and location, the relative yearclass strengths of cod and haddock in Southwest Nova Scotia were different, suggesting that the timing of local physical and biological events may play an important role in the recruitment success of these stocks.


2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 302-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.J. Cutts ◽  
J. Sawanboonchun ◽  
C. Mazorra de Quero ◽  
J.G. Bell

Abstract We studied the performance of cod rearing in which live feed was given under three different essential fatty acid (EFA) enrichment regimes, using commercially available live-feed enrichments. We assessed the fatty acid profile [docosahexaenoic (DHA), eicosapentaenoic (EPA), and arachidonic acid (AA)] in larval somatic tissue, relative to its amounts in both rotifers and Artemia as well as to larval performance. Overall, percentage lipid level of each experimental diet for the trial was approximately 50%. Further, there were no significant differences in total fatty acid levels of larvae from each treatment at the end of the trial (mean = 444.76 μg fatty acid per mg lipid). However, during the rotifer phase, larvae from each treatment were able to incorporate comparable levels of %DHA, irrespective of levels in the diet. Despite this, the rotifer diet with more %DHA still promoted better larval growth than other treatments. Conversely, larvae from two of the treatments did not exhibit any accumulation of AA, reflecting levels found in the diet instead. However, between-tank differences in larval %AA showed improved growth during the rotifer period when larval %AA was high. Low ratios of EPA had no effect. During the Artemia phase, percentage levels of larval DHA decreased; there was no accumulation of DHA relative to dietary levels, which in Artemia were significantly lower than in rotifers (6 cf. 20–30%). However, DHA levels in larvae at the end of the experiment correlated positively with survival. Artemia contained lower levels of AA than rotifers (1.5 cf. 3.0%), yet comparable levels of AA were found in rotifer-fed and Artemia-fed larvae. This also differed significantly between treatments, and correlated positively with survival.


1996 ◽  
Vol 74 (6) ◽  
pp. 1122-1129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne C. Chazal ◽  
John D. Krenz ◽  
David E. Scott

Intraspecific competition and enzyme variability have been observed to influence the bioenergetics of many organisms. In amphibians, larval growth affects body size at metamorphosis, which in turn can lead to differences in adult survival and fecundity. We manipulated larval density in a population of the marbled salamander, Ambystoma opacum, and measured body size and enzyme variability in surviving newly metamorphosed juveniles. Crowded larval conditions resulted in lower survival and smaller body sizes at metamorphosis. Multilocus heterozygosity showed no relation to body size at high larval densities; however, at low larval densities relatively homozygous animals were larger. There was a significant interaction between heterozygosity and larval density in their effects on larval traits. Competition had a greater effect on body size at metamorphosis than did heterozygosity. Survival may be enhanced by heterozygosity but in a manner unrelated to body size.


1999 ◽  
Vol 56 (9) ◽  
pp. 1612-1623 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey A Hutchings

A stochastic, age-structured life history model was used to examine how age at maturity (theta), pre- (Zimm) and postreproductive (Zmat) mortality, and postreproductive growth rate can affect maximum reproductive rates of fish at low population size. Simulations suggest that annual (r) and per-generation (R0) metrics of population growth for Newfoundland's northern Grand Bank Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua, are primarily influenced by changes to mortality prior to and following reproduction. At observed weights at age and Zmat = 0.2, r ranged between 0.135 and 0.164 for cod maturing at between 4 and 7 years. Incremental increases in either Zimm or Zmat of 0.1 were associated with 0.03-0.05 reductions in r. To effect similar reductions, individual growth rate would have to decline by approximately one half. At observed weights at age, increases in Zmat from 0.20 to 0.45 increased the probability of negative per-generation growth from 3 to 26% for cod maturing at 4 years and from 6 to 46% for cod maturing at 7 years. Thus, even in the absence of fishing mortality, little or no population growth by Atlantic cod may not be unexpected in the presence of environmental stochasticity, particularly when accompanied by increases in mortality and declining individual growth.


1994 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 1012-1023 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geir Blom ◽  
Terje Svåsand ◽  
Knut E. Jørstad ◽  
Håkon Otterå ◽  
Ole I. Paulsen ◽  
...  

Survival and growth of two strains of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) were compared through the larval and juvenile stages in a marine pond in western Norway in 1990 and 1991. Strain A was homozygous for the genetic marker allele GPI-1*30 at the glucose phosphate isomerase (GPI) locus expressed in white muscle, and Strain B possessed other GPI-1* genotypes, in 1990 the frequency of Strain B increased significantly from the larval to the juvenile stage; however, in 1991 the frequency of Strain A increased slightly but not significantly from the larval to the juvenile phase. Larval mortality did not differ significantly between strains any year, but juvenile mortality was significantly lower in Strain B in 1990 and Strain A in 1991. Average growth rates in length estimated from regressions were not significantly different between strains during the larval and juvenile period any year, but initial length was significantly larger in Strain B in 1990 and Strain A in 1991. Our results indicated that food limitation during the early juvenile stage induced differential size-selective mortality among the strains due to small differences in body size and actual age between strains. Body size did not become important for survival until the food-limited regime had occurred.


Aquaculture ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 283 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 175-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrine Skajaa Gunnarsli ◽  
Hilde Toften ◽  
Atle Mortensen

2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 1037-1052 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Folkvord

This study presents the first intraspecific evaluation of larval growth performance across several different experimental scales, environments, and regions of a marine fish species. Size- and temperature-dependent growth models for larval and early juvenile Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) are developed based on selected laboratory experiments with cod fed in excess. Observed sizes-at-age of cod from several experiments and stocks are compared with predictions from the models using initial size and ambient temperature history as inputs. Comparisons with results from other laboratory experiments reveal that the model predictions represent relatively high growth rates. Results from enclosure experiments under controlled seminatural conditions generally provide growth rates similar to those predicted from the models. The models therefore produce suitable reference growth predictions against which field-based growth estimates can be compared. These comparisons suggest that surviving cod larvae in the sea typically grow at rates close to their size- and temperature-dependent capacity. This suggests that climatic influences will strongly affect the year-to-year variations in growth of cod during their early life history owing to their markedly temperature-dependent growth potential.


2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Fry ◽  
Juan Pérez Casanova ◽  
Dounia Hamoutene ◽  
Lynn Lush ◽  
Andy Walsh ◽  
...  

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