Is recovery of northern cod limited by poor feeding? The capelin hypothesis revisited
The slow recovery of the “northern” Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua ) stock off Newfoundland and Labrador has been ascribed to many factors. One hypothesis is poor feeding and condition as a consequence of a decline in capelin ( Mallotus villosus ), their former main prey. We compared the growth and con...
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fthighwire:oai:open-archive.highwire.org:icesjms:71/4/784 2023-05-15T15:27:34+02:00 Is recovery of northern cod limited by poor feeding? The capelin hypothesis revisited Mullowney, Darrell R. J. Rose, George A. 2014-06-01 00:00:00.0 text/html http://icesjms.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/71/4/784 https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fst188 en eng Oxford University Press http://icesjms.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/71/4/784 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fst188 Copyright (C) 2014, International Council for the Exploration of the Sea/Conseil International pour l'Exploration de la Mer Original Articles TEXT 2014 fthighwire https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fst188 2015-02-28T22:23:13Z The slow recovery of the “northern” Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua ) stock off Newfoundland and Labrador has been ascribed to many factors. One hypothesis is poor feeding and condition as a consequence of a decline in capelin ( Mallotus villosus ), their former main prey. We compared the growth and condition of cod from known inshore (Smith Sound) and offshore (Bonavista Corridor) centres of rebuilding in wild subjects versus captive subjects fed an unlimited diet of oily rich fish. Wild fish in these areas have had different diets and population performance trends since stock declines in the early 1990s. Captive cod from both areas grew at the same rates and achieved equivalent prime condition, while their wild counterparts differed, with smaller sizes, lower condition in small fish, and elevated mortality levels in the offshore centre. Environmental temperature conditions did not account for the differences in performance of wild fish. Our results suggest that fish growth and condition, and hence rebuilding in the formerly large offshore spawning components of the northern cod, have been limited by a lack of capelin in their diet. Furthermore, we suggest that these groups are unlikely to rebuild until a recovery in capelin occurs. Text atlantic cod Gadus morhua Newfoundland Smith sound HighWire Press (Stanford University) Newfoundland Smith Sound ENVELOPE(-73.996,-73.996,78.419,78.419) ICES Journal of Marine Science 71 4 784 793 |
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HighWire Press (Stanford University) |
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fthighwire |
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English |
topic |
Original Articles |
spellingShingle |
Original Articles Mullowney, Darrell R. J. Rose, George A. Is recovery of northern cod limited by poor feeding? The capelin hypothesis revisited |
topic_facet |
Original Articles |
description |
The slow recovery of the “northern” Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua ) stock off Newfoundland and Labrador has been ascribed to many factors. One hypothesis is poor feeding and condition as a consequence of a decline in capelin ( Mallotus villosus ), their former main prey. We compared the growth and condition of cod from known inshore (Smith Sound) and offshore (Bonavista Corridor) centres of rebuilding in wild subjects versus captive subjects fed an unlimited diet of oily rich fish. Wild fish in these areas have had different diets and population performance trends since stock declines in the early 1990s. Captive cod from both areas grew at the same rates and achieved equivalent prime condition, while their wild counterparts differed, with smaller sizes, lower condition in small fish, and elevated mortality levels in the offshore centre. Environmental temperature conditions did not account for the differences in performance of wild fish. Our results suggest that fish growth and condition, and hence rebuilding in the formerly large offshore spawning components of the northern cod, have been limited by a lack of capelin in their diet. Furthermore, we suggest that these groups are unlikely to rebuild until a recovery in capelin occurs. |
format |
Text |
author |
Mullowney, Darrell R. J. Rose, George A. |
author_facet |
Mullowney, Darrell R. J. Rose, George A. |
author_sort |
Mullowney, Darrell R. J. |
title |
Is recovery of northern cod limited by poor feeding? The capelin hypothesis revisited |
title_short |
Is recovery of northern cod limited by poor feeding? The capelin hypothesis revisited |
title_full |
Is recovery of northern cod limited by poor feeding? The capelin hypothesis revisited |
title_fullStr |
Is recovery of northern cod limited by poor feeding? The capelin hypothesis revisited |
title_full_unstemmed |
Is recovery of northern cod limited by poor feeding? The capelin hypothesis revisited |
title_sort |
is recovery of northern cod limited by poor feeding? the capelin hypothesis revisited |
publisher |
Oxford University Press |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
http://icesjms.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/71/4/784 https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fst188 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-73.996,-73.996,78.419,78.419) |
geographic |
Newfoundland Smith Sound |
geographic_facet |
Newfoundland Smith Sound |
genre |
atlantic cod Gadus morhua Newfoundland Smith sound |
genre_facet |
atlantic cod Gadus morhua Newfoundland Smith sound |
op_relation |
http://icesjms.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/71/4/784 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fst188 |
op_rights |
Copyright (C) 2014, International Council for the Exploration of the Sea/Conseil International pour l'Exploration de la Mer |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fst188 |
container_title |
ICES Journal of Marine Science |
container_volume |
71 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
784 |
op_container_end_page |
793 |
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1766357990554730496 |