The interplay of fall and winter environments on overwintering potential in age-0 Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus)

Details

• Journal Title:
  Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• Personal Author:
  Laurel, Benjamin Jeffrey ; Rew Hicks, Mary Beth ; Barbeaux, Steve ; Stowell, Michelle Amber ; Copeman, Louise Audrey
• NOAA Program & Office:
  NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) ; AFSC (Alaska Fisheries Science Center) ; CIMERS (Cooperative Institute for Marine Ecosystem and Resources Studies)
• Description:
  Fish in higher latitudes must accumulate sufficient size and energy in fall to survive winters of low productivity. In this study, we measured the growth, condition and survival of age-0 Pacific cod held in the laboratory under varying fall and winter food-temperature scenarios. Individually tagged fish were held for 6 weeks in the fall at either 7.0°C or 10.0°C under a ‘low’ or ‘high’ food ration (1.9-2.6% vs. 4.2-5.9% body weight d-1, respectively) and redistributed into a series of new tanks to track survival and lipid loss in the absence of food across four winter temperatures (1.0, 2.5, 4.0, 6.0°C). Cooler winters and larger body size improved winter survival but were less important when fall conditions were unsuitable for lipid accumulation and growth e.g., warm, low food scenarios. Lipid reserves explained overwintering winter survival, and survival outcomes were better predicted using environmental proxies and fall condition indices than simple size-based models. These results suggest winter is a high mortality period, but the odds for winter survival are more likely pre-determined by feeding conditions in fall.
• Source:
  Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (2025)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2024-0363
• ISSN:
  0706-652X ; 1205-7533
• Format:
  pdf
• Publisher:
  Canadian Science Publishing
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Rights Information:
  Accepted Manuscript
• Compliance:
  Submitted
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d12911087508df92636dc89adb58dc94192d6a16688c03e943105896c8c1bf39120e55481df6cd767b6d80ff6de32e537334ad0d808eefd42fdfa184585ca89d
• Download URL:
  https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/72181/noaa_72181_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 778.99 KB ]