Growth model for Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua): Effects of temperature and body weight on growth rate

Aquaculture ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 271 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 216-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Björn Björnsson ◽  
Agnar Steinarsson ◽  
Tómas Árnason
1994 ◽  
Vol 51 (8) ◽  
pp. 1893-1898 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. S. Kjesbu ◽  
J. C. Holm

Adolescent (10-mo-old, ≈165 g) Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) hatched and reared in the laboratory were transferred to three different feeding regimes (groups) for a full year, high–high (HH), low–high (LH), or high–low (HL), switching the ration size after 5 mo in July (i.e., before vitellogenesis). Subsequent analysis of fecundity before the first spawning season revealed that adolescent body weight was most important for fecundity followed by growth rate in the autumn, while growth rate in the spring contributed insignificantly. There existed a significant positive correlation between individual, starting (adolescent), and final body weight. All groups were characterized by high individual variability in both fecundity and oocyte development, suggesting strong genetic influences. The groups showed different final mean body weights (HH: 1265 g, LH: 1199 g, and HL: 886 g) but, unexpectedly, the same mean relative fecundities (number of oocytes per gram of ovary-free fish) (≈1200). The study on oocyte sizes provided evidence that HH fish will commence spawning earliest in the year followed by LH fish and then HL fish.


2014 ◽  
Vol 514 ◽  
pp. 217-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
HY Wang ◽  
LW Botsford ◽  
JW White ◽  
MJ Fogarty ◽  
F Juanes ◽  
...  

1979 ◽  
Vol 36 (12) ◽  
pp. 1497-1502 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. J. Buckley

The protein, DNA, and RNA content of larvae maintained at 1.0 plankter/mL increased at the rates of 9.3, 9.9, and 9.8% per day, respectively, for the 5 wk after hatching. Protein reserves of larvae held at 0 or 0.2 plankters/mL were depleted by 45 and 35%, respectively, prior to death 12–13 d after hatching. Starved larvae had similar protein concentrations (percent of dry weight), lower RNA concentrations, and higher DNA concentrations than fed larvae. Larvae held at higher plankton densities had higher RNA–DNA ratios and faster growth rates than larvae held at lower plankton densities. The RNA–DNA ratio was significantly correlated (P < 0.01) with the protein growth rate. The RNA–DNA ratio appears to be a useful index of nutritional status in larval Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and may be useful for determining if cod larvae were in a period of rapid or slow growth at the time of capture. Key words: RNA–DNA ratio, starvation, protein, nucleic acids, growth, larval fish, Atlantic cod


2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (9) ◽  
pp. 1515-1527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Björn Björnsson

This study supports the hypothesis that well-fed cod (Gadus morhua) seek higher temperatures to increase growth rate, and poorly fed cod select lower temperatures to save metabolic energy. Depth and temperature of free-ranging adult cod (44–79 cm) were studied with data storage tags as part of a ranching project in an Icelandic fjord. Forage fish were regularly provided at four feeding stations where cod formed distinct “herds” (herd cod) that did not mingle much with the rest of the unconditioned cod in the fjord (wild cod). Several parameters (stomach fullness, liver index (fat reserves), condition factor, and growth rate) indicated that food intake was much greater in herd cod than in wild cod. In August, when the thermocline was well established, the herd cod remained in shallow (15–35 m) and warm water (8–10 °C), whereas the wild cod stayed in deep (80–90 m) and cold water (3–4 °C), but occasionally both groups explored depths and temperatures outside their preferred range. After vertical mixing in autumn when thermoregulation was not possible, the depth difference between the two groups decreased significantly.


Evolution ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 915-920 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grant H. Pogson ◽  
Svein Erik Fevolden

1999 ◽  
Vol 56 (9) ◽  
pp. 1612-1623 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey A Hutchings

A stochastic, age-structured life history model was used to examine how age at maturity (theta), pre- (Zimm) and postreproductive (Zmat) mortality, and postreproductive growth rate can affect maximum reproductive rates of fish at low population size. Simulations suggest that annual (r) and per-generation (R0) metrics of population growth for Newfoundland's northern Grand Bank Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua, are primarily influenced by changes to mortality prior to and following reproduction. At observed weights at age and Zmat = 0.2, r ranged between 0.135 and 0.164 for cod maturing at between 4 and 7 years. Incremental increases in either Zimm or Zmat of 0.1 were associated with 0.03-0.05 reductions in r. To effect similar reductions, individual growth rate would have to decline by approximately one half. At observed weights at age, increases in Zmat from 0.20 to 0.45 increased the probability of negative per-generation growth from 3 to 26% for cod maturing at 4 years and from 6 to 46% for cod maturing at 7 years. Thus, even in the absence of fishing mortality, little or no population growth by Atlantic cod may not be unexpected in the presence of environmental stochasticity, particularly when accompanied by increases in mortality and declining individual growth.


2004 ◽  
Vol 61 (6) ◽  
pp. 983-991 ◽  
Author(s):  
Björn Björnsson ◽  
Maria Álvaro Dongala Dombaxe

Abstract Nephrops was found to be of low quality as food for cod. In a laboratory experiment the mean specific growth rate of 1 kg cod was 0.184 and 0.415% d−1 when fed to satiation on Nephrops and capelin, respectively. This large difference in growth rate resulted not only from less intake of Nephrops (1.19 kg cod−1) than capelin (1.55 kg cod−1) but also because more Nephrops (4.6 kg) than capelin (2.2 kg) were required to produce each kilogramme of cod. Higher food conversion ratio was consistent with lower fat content of Nephrops (1.3%) than capelin (9.2%) but the exoskeleton also reduced the digestion rate of Nephrops. In the groups where Nephrops and capelin of equal mean weight were offered simultaneously, 40% of the diet consisted of Nephrops during the first week and 10% during the final seven weeks of the experiment. At the end of the experiment, condition factor, liver index, and gonadosomatic index were significantly lower for cod fed on Nephrops (0.967, 5.7, 7.1, respectively) than for those fed on capelin (1.086, 15.8, 11.2, respectively). These results suggests that predation by cod on Nephrops might be reduced by regular release of capelin or other similar food in the distributional areas of Nephrops.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document