The effect of temperature and body size on metabolic scope of activity in juvenile Atlantic cod Gadus morhua L.

Author(s):  
Bjørn Tirsgaard ◽  
Jane W. Behrens ◽  
John F. Steffensen
2003 ◽  
Vol 60 (8) ◽  
pp. 929-937 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myron A Peck ◽  
Lawrence J Buckley ◽  
David A Bengtson

We examined the effects of body size (3–13 cm total length) and temperature (4.5, 8.0, 12.0, and 15.5 °C) on routine (RR) and feeding (RSDA) energy losses by laboratory-reared, young-of-year juvenile Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). The magnitude of the effect of temperature on RR, expressed via the Q10, was nonlinear. Q10 values were greatest at temperatures between 4.5 and 8.0 °C and were lowest between 8.0 and 15.5 °C, with larger fish tending to exhibit the greatest change in RR irrespective of the temperature combination. Energy losses resulting from RSDA were ~4% of consumed energy, a value less than half that estimated for larger, year-1+ juvenile cod fed similar-sized rations. Data from this and other studies were combined to generate an equation estimating routine energy loss at different temperatures and body sizes for cod. The equation describes RR over the eight orders of magnitude difference in body size from young larvae to adults within a range of environmental temperatures experienced by this species on Georges Bank and other areas in the North Atlantic.


2008 ◽  
Vol 65 (7) ◽  
pp. 1191-1197 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Bang ◽  
P. Grønkjær ◽  
B. Lorenzen

Abstract Bang, A., Grønkjær, P., and Lorenzen, B. 2008. The relation between concentrations of ovarian trace elements and the body size of Atlantic cod Gadus morhua. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 1191–1197. Trace metals in the ovaries of fish are transferred from the female via the yolk to the offspring, which makes the early life stages susceptible to deleterious effects of potentially toxic elements contained in the ovaries. Here, the concentrations of 13 elements from the ovaries of 133 ripe female North Sea cod Gadus morhua weighing 0.2–18 kg were correlated with female size, accounting for differences in maturity and condition. Most elements were negatively correlated with the size variables weight, length and, especially, ovarian dry weight. Further, they were negatively correlated with maturity and condition. Many of the trace elements showed true size-dependence, but the correlations were generally weak. A linear discriminant analysis separated “small” and “large” fish at a length of 85 cm based on concentrations of Co, Mn, Se, and Zn, and correctly assigned 78 of 102 small fish and 23 of 31 large fish to their respective size category. This corresponds to an overall classification success of 75.9%. The results suggest that embryos and early larvae from small females are exposed to higher levels of potentially harmful metals. If the differences in trace element concentration influence survival success, this will add to the negative effects of size distribution truncation and declines in size-at-maturity experienced by many populations of cod.


1994 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 1012-1023 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geir Blom ◽  
Terje Svåsand ◽  
Knut E. Jørstad ◽  
Håkon Otterå ◽  
Ole I. Paulsen ◽  
...  

Survival and growth of two strains of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) were compared through the larval and juvenile stages in a marine pond in western Norway in 1990 and 1991. Strain A was homozygous for the genetic marker allele GPI-1*30 at the glucose phosphate isomerase (GPI) locus expressed in white muscle, and Strain B possessed other GPI-1* genotypes, in 1990 the frequency of Strain B increased significantly from the larval to the juvenile stage; however, in 1991 the frequency of Strain A increased slightly but not significantly from the larval to the juvenile phase. Larval mortality did not differ significantly between strains any year, but juvenile mortality was significantly lower in Strain B in 1990 and Strain A in 1991. Average growth rates in length estimated from regressions were not significantly different between strains during the larval and juvenile period any year, but initial length was significantly larger in Strain B in 1990 and Strain A in 1991. Our results indicated that food limitation during the early juvenile stage induced differential size-selective mortality among the strains due to small differences in body size and actual age between strains. Body size did not become important for survival until the food-limited regime had occurred.


2001 ◽  
Vol 138 (6) ◽  
pp. 1077-1085 ◽  
Author(s):  
Not Available Not Available ◽  
Not Available Not Available ◽  
Not Available Not Available

1994 ◽  
Vol 197 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Schurmann ◽  
J Steffensen

The spontaneous swimming activity of Atlantic cod Gadus morhua was investigated at graded levels of hypoxia at three temperatures (5, 10 and 15 °C) by using a computerized system monitoring animal activity. The fish were tested individually, and swimming distance was used as a measure of activity. No significant effect of temperature on swimming distance in normoxic water was found. At all temperatures, activity level decreased with decreasing oxygen saturation. Swimming behaviour at normoxia and 50 % and 25 % oxygen saturation is described. No apparent avoidance of hypoxic water was found based on the distribution of swimming speeds and turning angles. The possible benefits of a decreased activity level in a hypoxic environment are discussed.


1999 ◽  
Vol 56 (12) ◽  
pp. 2315-2323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Rakitin ◽  
Moira M Ferguson ◽  
Edward A Trippel

Sperm competition experiments were conducted to test the null hypothesis that sperm quality is not affected by male body size in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). Genetic markers (allozymes) were used to determine the proportion of larvae sired by pairs of males when their sperm was combined with eggs of a single female simultaneously. Significant differences in fertilization success between males were not explained by differences in body size. Fertilization success was positively associated with male condition factor (K) and with spermatozoa density in each male's semen when equal volumes of semen from each male were used. Male K was positively associated with male fertilization success when the volume of semen used from each male was adjusted to add approximately equal numbers of spermatozoa from each male. The relative fertilization success of males varied depending on which female was the egg donor, suggesting that female "choice" at the gamete level may be occurring in cod.


1999 ◽  
Vol 56 (S1) ◽  
pp. 180-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C Schneider ◽  
Tammo Bult ◽  
Robert S Gregory ◽  
David A Methven ◽  
Danny W Ings ◽  
...  

The problem of scaling spatially and temporally limited data to larger scale questions can no longer be ignored as evidence accumulates that the importance of any given process, relative to another, depends on spatial and temporal scale. A recently developed graphical technique allows identification of critical space and time scales, which separate scales at which one rate prevails from scales at which another rate prevails. We used data from the literature to test a series of hypotheses concerning change in critical scales with change with life history stage in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). The critical scales for mortality relative to kinematics increased slightly for pelagic juveniles relative to drifting eggs, decreased substantially for demersal juveniles relative to pelagic juveniles, increased again in adults, and, contrary to expectation, remained high in large adults ("mother fish"). Critical time and space scales were found to be linked and cannot be taken as constants.


2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherrylynn Rowe ◽  
Jeffrey A Hutchings ◽  
Jon Egil Skjæraasen

We tested the hypothesis that reproductive success in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) is random with respect to similarity in body size between mates. Immediately prior to their natural breeding periods, groups of 52–93 cod from three Northwest Atlantic populations were transported to a large (15 m diameter, 4 m deep) tank where they spawned undisturbed at densities similar to those in nature. Based on microsatellite DNA-parentage assignment of 8913 offspring from four spawning groups, females and males achieved their highest reproductive success when breeding with mates that were larger than themselves. Our observations are consistent with the hypothesis that some form of intrasexual competition or mate choice is a constituent of the mating system of this species and that this can have an important influence on individual fitness. Our results further suggest that reductions in the mean and variance in body size of commercially exploited marine fishes concomitant with size-selective harvesting may have greater negative consequences for population recovery than previously thought.


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