Diets and body condition of polar cod (Boreogadus saida) in the northern Bering Sea and Chukchi Sea

To understand trophic responses of polar cod Boreogadus saida (a key species in Arctic food webs) to changes in zooplankton and benthic invertebrate communities (prey), we compared its stomach contents and body condition between three regions with different environments: the northern Bering Sea (NB)...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar Biology
Main Authors: Nakano, Tsubasa, Matsuno, Kohei, Nishizawa, Bungo, Iwahara, Yuka, Mitani, Yoko, Yamamoto, Jun, Sakurai, Yasunori, Watanuki, Yutaka
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Springer
Subjects:
Gelatinous zooplankton
Lipid content
Prey availability
Regional differences
Stomach fullness
660
Arctic
Bering Sea
Chukchi Sea
Boreogadus saida
Chukchi
Polar Biology
polar cod
Zooplankton
Copepods
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/2115/65797
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-015-1769-x
Description
Summary:To understand trophic responses of polar cod Boreogadus saida (a key species in Arctic food webs) to changes in zooplankton and benthic invertebrate communities (prey), we compared its stomach contents and body condition between three regions with different environments: the northern Bering Sea (NB), southern Chukchi Sea (SC), and central Chukchi Sea (CC). Polar cod were sampled using a bottom trawl, and their potential prey species in the environment were sampled using a plankton net and a surface sediment sampler. Polar cod fed mainly on appendicularians in the NB and SC where copepods were the most abundant in the environment, while they fed on copepods, euphausiids, and gammarids in the CC where barnacle larvae were the most abundant species in plankton samples on average. The stomach fullness index of polar cod was higher in the NB and SC than CC, while their body condition index did not differ between these regions. The lower lipid content of appendicularians compared to other prey species is the most plausible explanation for this inconsistency.

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