Sex-specific temperature distribution of American plaice (Hippoglossoides platessoides) and its relation to age and abundance

1997 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
pp. 1077-1087 ◽  
Author(s):  
D P Swain

I examined variation in the temperature distribution of American plaice (Hippoglossoides platessoides) in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence using data from bottom trawl surveys conducted each September since 1971. Plaice tended to select cold temperatures relative to those available. Temperature distribution was unrelated to age over the range 3-12+ years. Females tended to occupy warmer water than males, although the extent of this difference between the sexes varied among years. Annual variation in plaice temperature distribution was positively correlated with variation in the temperatures available. After accounting for annual variation in available temperatures, female temperature distribution was density independent but males tended to occupy colder water at higher levels of abundance. The median temperature occupied by both sexes tended to be warmer at higher levels of abundance of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), a competitor of plaice. The difference between the sexes in temperature distribution increased as cod abundance decreased or as plaice abundance increased (depending on the measure of temperature distribution used). The observed difference between the sexes in temperature distribution and its density dependence may reflect differences in foraging rate associated with differences between the sexes in the fitness benefits of growth.

2016 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edda Johannesen ◽  
Geir Odd Johansen ◽  
Knut Korsbrekke

Seasonal variation in feeding and growth of 3- to 9-year-old Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) was studied using data from joint Norwegian–Russian surveys in January–March (winter survey) and September–August (ecosystem survey) in the Barents Sea. The study encompassed the warmest period on record, with large cod stock and both low (2004–2007) and high (2008–2013) abundance of Barents Sea cod’s main prey, capelin (Mallotus villosus). Feeding on capelin was most important in winter. Energy acquisition (kJ·day−1) was higher during fall, but in years with high capelin abundance the seasonal difference was smaller. There was no difference in energy acquisition in years with high and low capelin abundance, underpinning recent findings on decoupling between capelin abundance and cod demography. Compensatory feeding on alternative prey takes place in fall, but not in winter. These findings were consistent across age groups. The results found for energy acquisition was mirrored in growth; in years with low capelin abundance, there was a seasonal difference in growth, whereas in years with high capelin abundance, the difference was absent.


2005 ◽  
Vol 56 (5) ◽  
pp. 753 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Berg ◽  
Tuula H. Sarvas ◽  
Alf Harbitz ◽  
Svein Erik Fevolden ◽  
Arnt Børre Salberg

The distinction between north-east Arctic cod and Norwegian coastal cod, two major groups of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.), has for many years been based on different distance and shape similarities between the two first translucent growth zones in the otoliths, subjectively decided by visual inspection in a binocular. To analyse the certainty of this technique, four independent readers have classified 263 cod otoliths in total from five different geographical areas. For three of the readers, between 82% and 89% of the classification results coincided with independent results based on genetic analyses. Further, 38 cod otoliths, where the readers were certain of the classification (21 north-east Arctic cod and 17 coastal cod) were classified by several image analysis methods. A complete separation was obtained by using the ratio of the circumferences of the two zones, providing a typical ratio of approximately 2 for coastal and 1.5 for north-east Arctic cod. The otolith method for separating the two types of cod has been considered adequately accurate in assessing the two stocks of cod. However, the method is sensitive to subjective interpretation, and action needs to be taken to minimise the difference in interpretation among otolith readers.


1993 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 1255-1264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas P. Swain

I examined the bathymetric pattern of Alantic cod (Gadus morhua) in September in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence for age groups 3–8+ over the period 1971–91 using data from annual bottom trawl surveys. Mean age of cod tended to increase with depth in all years. The age-specific bathymetric patterns underlying this relationship differed markedly between periods of low and high abundance. When abundance was high, cod densities tended to be highest at intermediate depths, and the positive correlation between age and depth reflected a tendency for density to be highest in progressively deeper water for older fish. When abundance was low, density was either unrelated to depth or highest in shallow water, and the positive correlation between age and depth reflected a tendency for older cod to be more widely distributed than younger cod (i.e., density decreased less sharply with depth for older cod). I suggest explanations for this density dependence of cod bathymetric pattern and discuss these results in relation to the factors underlying habitat selection and bathymetric segregation by age in this population.


1998 ◽  
Vol 55 (12) ◽  
pp. 2548-2561 ◽  
Author(s):  
D P Swain ◽  
G A Chouinard ◽  
R Morin ◽  
K F Drinkwater

We compared habitat associations of southern Gulf of St. Lawrence Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and American plaice (Hippoglossoides platessoides) between the summer feeding season on the Magdalen Shallows and the overwintering period in the Cabot Strait. Data were from bottom trawl surveys conducted in September 1993, 1994, and 1995 and January 1994, 1995, and 1996. Both species occupied much deeper, warmer water in winter than in summer. The effect of cod age on temperature distribution reversed between the two seasons, with younger cod occupying warmer water than older cod in summer and colder water in winter. Selection of both depth and temperature by cod tended to be more significant in September than in January. The reduced statistical significance of habitat selection by cod in winter was associated with a more aggregated distribution in this season. The contrast between seasons in habitat associations was particularly strong for plaice. The median habitats occupied by plaice were 58-67 m and -0.1 to 0.3°C in September and 374-426 m and 5.2-5.4°C in January. Habitat selection by plaice was significant in both seasons, but significance tended to be greater in January. Degree of aggregation in plaice distribution was similar between the two seasons. Female plaice occupied significantly warmer water than males in September but not in January. The ecological and practical implications of this striking seasonal variation in habitat associations are discussed.


2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Håkon Otterå ◽  
Ann-Lisbeth Agnalt ◽  
Knut E. Jørstad

Abstract Several hundred Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.) were collected from selected spawning grounds along the Norwegian coast in March 2002. Four areas or regions that represent a wide range of environmental conditions were chosen for our breeding experiments: Porsangerfjord, Tysfjord, Helgeland, and Øygarden. Cod were transported to Øygarden near Bergen, individually tagged, and kept in sea cages. In both 2003 and 2004, a total of 40 family groups (adult pairs) representing the four regions were monitored for their spawning performance in separate tanks. During the spawning period, the quantity and diameter of eggs were recorded. During 2003, the time of peak spawning differed among groups. It was evident that the broodstock from the Øygarden region spawned about one month earlier than the broodstock collected from the Helgeland region. This also occurred in 2004, two years after the cod were collected, suggesting that the difference has a genetic component. Differences in life history parameters between cod populations, such as spawning cycles as described here, could be adaptive and under genetic control. This must be taken into consideration when assessing precautionary means of overcoming the problem with escapees from future cod mariculture.


1975 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 775-783 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Dingle ◽  
J. A. Hines

Minced flesh of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and pollock (Pollachius virens), recovered by means of meat-separator machines from frames left after filleting operations, suffered a rapid loss of protein solubility during storage at −5 C. This was due to the presence of kidney tissue which caused the formation of dimethylamine and formaldehyde from the trimethylamine oxide of the muscle. The minced flesh of witch flounder (Glyptocephalus cynoglossus), American plaice (Hippoglossoides platessoides), and Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) was relatively stable when mixed with homogenates of their own kidney tissue, but cod kidney caused the same changes in gray sole as it did in minced cod flesh. The exclusion of gadoid kidney and blood from minced fish preparations is recommended.


1994 ◽  
Vol 51 (12) ◽  
pp. 2834-2842 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally V. Goddard ◽  
J. S. Wroblewski ◽  
C. T. Taggart ◽  
K. A. Howse ◽  
W. L. Bailey ◽  
...  

Adult Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) are known to produce antifreeze glycoproteins in response to cold temperatures. Our laboratory studies demonstrated that blood plasma levels in adult cod were positively correlated with the number of days they spent in subzero water. Between April 1991 and June 1993, we monitored concentrations of antifreeze glycoproteins in the plasma of late juvenile and adult cod in Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, and used the results to estimate how long cod had been exposed to low water temperatures. A consideration of these data in conjunction with detailed temperature profiles of the area taken over the course of the study allowed us to deduce the distribution of cod in relation to the temperature field. This study provides evidence that (1) blood antifreeze glycoprotein levels can be used to deduce the recent thermal history of cod in the wild and (2) after their inshore summer feeding period, considerable numbers of adult cod overwintered inshore in Trinity Bay in subzero water, producing antifreeze glycoproteins as temperatures fell below 0 °C. From May onwards, "cold-adapted" cod moved into warming surface waters, where they became available to an early inshore trap fishery.


2011 ◽  
Vol 68 (9) ◽  
pp. 1918-1927 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Wright ◽  
Colin P. Millar ◽  
Fiona M. Gibb

Abstract Wright, P. J., Millar, C. P., and Gibb, F. M. 2011. Intrastock differences in maturation schedules of Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68: 1918–1927. Differences in maturation schedules from three subpopulations of North Sea cod (Gadus morhua) were examined using the demographic probabilistic maturation reaction norm (PMRN) approach. Declines in maturation probability with size and age were evident within the North Sea cod stock, but the magnitude of decline differed among subpopulations. The difference in the rate of decline led to significant spatial differences in recent times. Changes in maturation probability could not be explained by colonization from adjacent regions indicating a local response to conditions. The greatest decline in maturation probability followed the near collapse of regional spawning biomass during the 1980s and 1990s. A new methodology was developed to integrate the effects of temperature and competitive biomass into the estimation of the PMRN. Temperature had a positive effect on maturation probability, but could only partially explain the decreasing trend in PMRN midpoints. Consequently, regional selection for early maturing genotypes provides the most parsimonious explanation for the declines in maturation probability observed. The difference in maturation probability among North Sea cod subpopulations, and the additive contribution of temperature to the estimation of change, underscores the need to account for population structuring and to incorporate temperature as a covariate in future applications of the PMRN.


1997 ◽  
Vol 54 (12) ◽  
pp. 2955-2963 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacques Allard ◽  
Ghislain A Chouinard

Discarding of small fish is considered to be an important conservation problem and has become illegal in some fisheries. We present a cost-efficient strategy to help enforce regulations against discarding. A discarding indicator is defined using the change in slope between two reference points on the empirical length-frequency density of the catch. This discarding indicator is then used according to the external distribution concept: the sampling distribution of the discarding indicator, when no discarding occurred, is obtained directly from samples taken by onboard observers; the value of the discarding indicator observed by onshore observers from a boat not covered by onboard observers is then compared with this sampling distribution. This procedure offers a nonparametric test for discarding. Application of the strategy is illustrated using data from the 1991 Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) fishery in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. We describe several enforcement frameworks within which the method can be applied. The cost efficiency of the strategy comes from shifting resources from high-cost onboard observation to lower cost onshore observation.


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