Characteristics of under-ice swarming of polar cod Boreogadus saida (Gadidae) in the Central Arctic Ocean

Melnikov, I. A.; Чернова, Н. В.

doi:10.1134/s0032945213010086

Cited by 44 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Polar cod is commonly depicted as an essential element of the Arctic marine food web linking primary consumers to higher trophic levels (Bradstreet et al, ; Melnikov & Chernova, ; Rice, ). Our study indicates that adult polar cod populations from Svalbard also act as tertiary consumers with a diet primarily composed of secondary consumer amphipod in fall and fish prey in the winter.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal shifts in feeding patterns: Individual and population realized specialization in a high Arctic fish

Cusa

Berge

Varpe

2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Species with a broad and flexible diet may be at an advantage in a rapidly changing environment such as in today's Arctic ecosystems. Polar cod (Boreogadus saida), an abundant and ecologically important circumpolar Arctic fish, is often described as a zooplankton generalist feeder, which suggests that it may cope successfully with changes in prey composition. This description is justified based on the relatively broad diet of polar cod across sites and seasons. In this case study, we used polar cod dietary data from fall and winter and from two distinct environments, dominated either by Arctic or Atlantic water masses in Svalbard. Our results point to the importance of time and space when drawing conclusions on dietary plasticity and degree of specialization. Polar cod diet differed significantly between fall and the winter and between Arctic and Atlantic domains. Polar cod from Arctic domains displayed a strong realized population specialization on Themisto libellula in fall, and the larger dietary niche width observed in the winter was the product of realized individual specialization, with increased feeding on fish prey. Overall, we did not observe a generalized feeding behavior. If dietary niche width is to inform conservation management, we argue it must be recognized that populations from a single species may adopt seasonally contrasting degrees of dietary specialization and that these populations may differ in their vulnerability to climate‐induced changes in prey community composition.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal shifts in feeding patterns: Individual and population realized specialization in a high Arctic fish

Cusa

Berge

Varpe

2019

Ecology and Evolution

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“…Fertilized B. saida eggs develop slowly below sea ice at as low as −1⋅8 ∘ C (Aronovich et al, 1975;Melnikov & Chernova, 2013). At such low temperatures, hatching would not normally occur until May to June and yolk absorption would last another month.…”

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confidence: 99%

Upper thermal limits of the hearts of Arctic cod Boreogadus saida: adults compared with larvae

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Fisher

Randall³

et al. 2015

Journal of Fish Biology

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Wild adult and reared larval Boreogadus saida were acclimated to 3⋅5 ∘ C before testing their cardiac response to acute warming. Heart rate transition temperatures during warming were similar for adult and larval hearts, except that the maximum temperature for heart rate was 3 ∘ C warmer for adults. Thus, in a rapidly warming Arctic Ocean, the upper temperature limit for larval rather than adult B. saida appears more likely to dictate the southern range of the species.

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“…The latter has a more restricted distribution and appears to be absent from the Central Arctic Basin (Mecklenburg and Steinke 2015). In contrast, polar cod (primarily 1-year-old fish) are ubiquitous under the sea ice throughout the central Arctic Ocean in the Canadian Basin (Melnikov and Chernova 2013) and the Eurasian Basin, where fish in good energetic condition have been observed in relatively high densities up to an estimated 15,920 individuals km -2 (David et al 2016). These fish likely originate on the Arctic shelves, and it is unclear how their distribution will be affected by further shortening of the ice-covered season and reduced sea ice extent (David et al 2016).…”

Section: Distribution In the Arctic And Habitat Preferencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ecology of gadid fishes in the circumpolar Arctic with a special emphasis on the polar cod (Boreogadus saida)

et al. 2016

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Characteristics of under-ice swarming of polar cod Boreogadus saida (Gadidae) in the Central Arctic Ocean

Cited by 44 publications

References 22 publications

Seasonal shifts in feeding patterns: Individual and population realized specialization in a high Arctic fish

Seasonal shifts in feeding patterns: Individual and population realized specialization in a high Arctic fish

Upper thermal limits of the hearts of Arctic cod Boreogadus saida: adults compared with larvae

The ecology of gadid fishes in the circumpolar Arctic with a special emphasis on the polar cod (Boreogadus saida)

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