Distribution and Life History of Spawning Capelin in Subarctic Alaska
Abstract Capelin Mallotus villosus is a coldwater, marine forage fish that responds quickly to environmental fluctuations; however, little is known about Capelin in Alaskan waters. The objective of the current study was to better understand the distribution and life history of spawning Capelin in no...
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crwiley:10.1002/tafs.10207 2024-06-23T07:53:23+00:00 Distribution and Life History of Spawning Capelin in Subarctic Alaska Ressel, Kirsten N. Bell, Jenefer L. Sutton, Trent M. Alaska Department of Fish and Game North Pacific Research Board 2019 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/tafs.10207 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/tafs.10207 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/tafs.10207 https://afspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/tafs.10207 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Transactions of the American Fisheries Society volume 149, issue 1, page 43-56 ISSN 0002-8487 1548-8659 journal-article 2019 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/tafs.10207 2024-06-13T04:23:47Z Abstract Capelin Mallotus villosus is a coldwater, marine forage fish that responds quickly to environmental fluctuations; however, little is known about Capelin in Alaskan waters. The objective of the current study was to better understand the distribution and life history of spawning Capelin in northern Norton Sound, Alaska. Surveys were conducted from May through July 2018 to locate and estimate the size of nearshore Capelin aggregations prior to spawning, identify the location and timing of spawning events, characterize spawning habitat, and collect actively spawning fish to examine life history characteristics (e.g., body size, age, fecundity, etc.). Most (85.9%) of the nearshore aggregations were less than 12 m 2 in surface area. Spawning Capelin were collected in Norton Sound between June 15 and June 21. At spawning locations, gravel and coarse sand accounted for over 70% of the proportional weight of sediment collected within a beach, and all sediment samples contained Capelin eggs. Spawning males were larger than spawning females in TL (mean ± SD = 148.8 ± 6.7 mm versus 137.0 ± 8.4 mm, respectively) and total weight (21.2 ± 2.9 g versus 13.7 ± 3.0 g), and both sexes were predominately age 3 (age range = 2–4 years). Absolute fecundity was 9,219 ± 4,529 eggs, and the gonadosomatic index was 1.09 ± 0.32% for males and 21.69 ± 8.21% for females. Nearshore aggregation sizes in Norton Sound were smaller than those reported for Newfoundland, but spawning behavior, timing, and water conditions were similar to observations from other Capelin spawning regions (e.g., Greenland), as were size, age, fecundity, and gonadosomatic index estimates. Although the results from the current study update baseline information on spawning Capelin in northern Norton Sound, continued research on their distribution and life history is needed to better understand ecosystem function in the North Pacific Ocean. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland Newfoundland Subarctic Alaska Wiley Online Library Greenland Norton Sound ENVELOPE(69.507,69.507,-49.202,-49.202) Pacific Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 149 1 43 56 |
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Open Polar |
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Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Capelin Mallotus villosus is a coldwater, marine forage fish that responds quickly to environmental fluctuations; however, little is known about Capelin in Alaskan waters. The objective of the current study was to better understand the distribution and life history of spawning Capelin in northern Norton Sound, Alaska. Surveys were conducted from May through July 2018 to locate and estimate the size of nearshore Capelin aggregations prior to spawning, identify the location and timing of spawning events, characterize spawning habitat, and collect actively spawning fish to examine life history characteristics (e.g., body size, age, fecundity, etc.). Most (85.9%) of the nearshore aggregations were less than 12 m 2 in surface area. Spawning Capelin were collected in Norton Sound between June 15 and June 21. At spawning locations, gravel and coarse sand accounted for over 70% of the proportional weight of sediment collected within a beach, and all sediment samples contained Capelin eggs. Spawning males were larger than spawning females in TL (mean ± SD = 148.8 ± 6.7 mm versus 137.0 ± 8.4 mm, respectively) and total weight (21.2 ± 2.9 g versus 13.7 ± 3.0 g), and both sexes were predominately age 3 (age range = 2–4 years). Absolute fecundity was 9,219 ± 4,529 eggs, and the gonadosomatic index was 1.09 ± 0.32% for males and 21.69 ± 8.21% for females. Nearshore aggregation sizes in Norton Sound were smaller than those reported for Newfoundland, but spawning behavior, timing, and water conditions were similar to observations from other Capelin spawning regions (e.g., Greenland), as were size, age, fecundity, and gonadosomatic index estimates. Although the results from the current study update baseline information on spawning Capelin in northern Norton Sound, continued research on their distribution and life history is needed to better understand ecosystem function in the North Pacific Ocean. |
author2 |
Alaska Department of Fish and Game North Pacific Research Board |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ressel, Kirsten N. Bell, Jenefer L. Sutton, Trent M. |
spellingShingle |
Ressel, Kirsten N. Bell, Jenefer L. Sutton, Trent M. Distribution and Life History of Spawning Capelin in Subarctic Alaska |
author_facet |
Ressel, Kirsten N. Bell, Jenefer L. Sutton, Trent M. |
author_sort |
Ressel, Kirsten N. |
title |
Distribution and Life History of Spawning Capelin in Subarctic Alaska |
title_short |
Distribution and Life History of Spawning Capelin in Subarctic Alaska |
title_full |
Distribution and Life History of Spawning Capelin in Subarctic Alaska |
title_fullStr |
Distribution and Life History of Spawning Capelin in Subarctic Alaska |
title_full_unstemmed |
Distribution and Life History of Spawning Capelin in Subarctic Alaska |
title_sort |
distribution and life history of spawning capelin in subarctic alaska |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/tafs.10207 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/tafs.10207 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/tafs.10207 https://afspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/tafs.10207 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(69.507,69.507,-49.202,-49.202) |
geographic |
Greenland Norton Sound Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Greenland Norton Sound Pacific |
genre |
Greenland Newfoundland Subarctic Alaska |
genre_facet |
Greenland Newfoundland Subarctic Alaska |
op_source |
Transactions of the American Fisheries Society volume 149, issue 1, page 43-56 ISSN 0002-8487 1548-8659 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/tafs.10207 |
container_title |
Transactions of the American Fisheries Society |
container_volume |
149 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
43 |
op_container_end_page |
56 |
_version_ |
1802645000157134848 |