Size distribution of Pacific cod ( Gadus macrocephalus) in the North Pacific Ocean over 6 millennia
Abstract In this paper, we compile estimates of cod size distributions based on zooarchaeological data and contemporary length-frequency data to look at variability in size composition through time across the North Pacific, from the northern Kuril Islands through the Aleutian Islands to southeast Al...
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/qua.2020.70 2024-09-15T18:41:29+00:00 Size distribution of Pacific cod ( Gadus macrocephalus) in the North Pacific Ocean over 6 millennia West, Catherine F. Etnier, Michael A. Barbeaux, Steven Partlow, Megan A. Orlov, Alexei M. 2020 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/qua.2020.70 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033589420000708 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Quaternary Research volume 108, page 43-63 ISSN 0033-5894 1096-0287 journal-article 2020 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2020.70 2024-08-21T04:04:36Z Abstract In this paper, we compile estimates of cod size distributions based on zooarchaeological data and contemporary length-frequency data to look at variability in size composition through time across the North Pacific, from the northern Kuril Islands through the Aleutian Islands to southeast Alaska. The results suggest that a strong longitudinal trend in cod size has remained consistent over time, with the largest cod found to the west. We find that five of nine sites show that overall cod length and distribution of the largest fish remain relatively unchanged. Two sites where we find truncation of the length distributions—or loss of the largest fish—are places where the modern fisheries have the longest history and have been most intense, suggesting a potential for anthropogenic impacts on these local populations. We acknowledge two limitations in these data: (1) there are differences in selectivity between the ancient and modern fisheries; and (2) seasonal variability in fish availability was observed to be an important explanatory variable in the modern data set, but the season of harvest is poorly understood for the ancient collections. Therefore, while differences observed between the two data sets suggest possible anthropogenic influence on the size structure of Pacific cod, they are not conclusive. Article in Journal/Newspaper Alaska Aleutian Islands Cambridge University Press Quaternary Research 1 21 |
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Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
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crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract In this paper, we compile estimates of cod size distributions based on zooarchaeological data and contemporary length-frequency data to look at variability in size composition through time across the North Pacific, from the northern Kuril Islands through the Aleutian Islands to southeast Alaska. The results suggest that a strong longitudinal trend in cod size has remained consistent over time, with the largest cod found to the west. We find that five of nine sites show that overall cod length and distribution of the largest fish remain relatively unchanged. Two sites where we find truncation of the length distributions—or loss of the largest fish—are places where the modern fisheries have the longest history and have been most intense, suggesting a potential for anthropogenic impacts on these local populations. We acknowledge two limitations in these data: (1) there are differences in selectivity between the ancient and modern fisheries; and (2) seasonal variability in fish availability was observed to be an important explanatory variable in the modern data set, but the season of harvest is poorly understood for the ancient collections. Therefore, while differences observed between the two data sets suggest possible anthropogenic influence on the size structure of Pacific cod, they are not conclusive. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
West, Catherine F. Etnier, Michael A. Barbeaux, Steven Partlow, Megan A. Orlov, Alexei M. |
spellingShingle |
West, Catherine F. Etnier, Michael A. Barbeaux, Steven Partlow, Megan A. Orlov, Alexei M. Size distribution of Pacific cod ( Gadus macrocephalus) in the North Pacific Ocean over 6 millennia |
author_facet |
West, Catherine F. Etnier, Michael A. Barbeaux, Steven Partlow, Megan A. Orlov, Alexei M. |
author_sort |
West, Catherine F. |
title |
Size distribution of Pacific cod ( Gadus macrocephalus) in the North Pacific Ocean over 6 millennia |
title_short |
Size distribution of Pacific cod ( Gadus macrocephalus) in the North Pacific Ocean over 6 millennia |
title_full |
Size distribution of Pacific cod ( Gadus macrocephalus) in the North Pacific Ocean over 6 millennia |
title_fullStr |
Size distribution of Pacific cod ( Gadus macrocephalus) in the North Pacific Ocean over 6 millennia |
title_full_unstemmed |
Size distribution of Pacific cod ( Gadus macrocephalus) in the North Pacific Ocean over 6 millennia |
title_sort |
size distribution of pacific cod ( gadus macrocephalus) in the north pacific ocean over 6 millennia |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/qua.2020.70 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033589420000708 |
genre |
Alaska Aleutian Islands |
genre_facet |
Alaska Aleutian Islands |
op_source |
Quaternary Research volume 108, page 43-63 ISSN 0033-5894 1096-0287 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2020.70 |
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Quaternary Research |
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1 |
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21 |
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1810485894135676928 |