Ecology and biology of the Antarctic giant fish Dissostichus mawsoni (Pisces, Nototheniidae): reproduction, trophic role and migrations in the Ross Sea region ...

• Main Author: DI BLASI, DAVIDE
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Universit� degli studi di Genova 2021
• Subjects: Antarctic; McMurdo Sound; New Zealand; Ross Sea; Terra Nova Bay; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctic Toothfish; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.15167/di-blasi-davide_phd2021-06-10; https://iris.unige.it//handle/11567/1047295

Three different studies have been implemented to fill gaps in the knowledge of the Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) life cycle in the Ross Sea. First, presence, abundance and size distribution of toothfish in the shelf, in areas periodically covered by sea ice, were investigated by means of Baited Remote Underwater Video systems (BRUVs), an emerging technology never employed before in such kind of habitat. The study was developed from 2015 to 2018 in McMurdo Sound and Terra Nova Bay, it highlighted the efficacy of the methodology for investigating the species, recording dozens of fish of different sizes. We started to make some inferences on how environmental variables influence the distribution of the toothfish in shelf areas, but even more important, we established a working protocol useful for future works. The second section has been focused on the Second Winter Survey conducted in September-October 2019 onboard of a New Zealand fishing vessel with the aim to investigate toothfish reproductive ...