Effects of turbidity on the spontaneous and prey-searching activity of juvenile Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua)

• Published in: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
• Main Authors: Meager, Justin J, Batty, Robert S
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: The Royal Society 2007
• Subjects: Research Article; atlantic cod; Gadus morhua; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2442857; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17472920; https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2007.2104

Increasing turbidity in coastal waters in the North Atlantic and adjacent seas has raised concerns about impacts on Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) using these areas as nurseries. A previous experiment (Meager et al. 2005 Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 62, 1978–1984) has shown that turbidity (up to 28 beam attenuation m−1) had little effect on the foraging rate of juvenile cod. Although this was attributed to cod using chemoreception in conjunction with vision to locate prey, foraging rates may also be maintained by increased activity. Higher activity, however, is energetically costly and may offset benefits from increased foraging return.