Effects of fish length and temperature on the timing of peak spawning in capelin (Mallotus villosus)

1997 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 781-787 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Carscadden ◽  
B S Nakashima ◽  
K T Frank
Keyword(s):  
Adult Survival ◽  
Data Series ◽  
Fish Length ◽  
Mallotus Villosus ◽  
Sea Temperature ◽  
Capelin Mallotus Villosus ◽  
Spawning Time ◽  
Mature Fish ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Gonad Production

Some characteristics of Newfoundland capelin (Mallotus villosus) changed during 1991-1994. Peak spawning times were later than most years in the 1980s and fish were smaller. These changes occurred during a period of below-normal sea temperatures. We tested the effects of sea temperatures during maturation and mean size of mature fish on peak spawning times using regression analysis and found significant negative relationships for both independent variables. Results of a stepwise regression showed that fish length and sea temperature during maturation were equally important and together explained about 80% of the spawning time variation. We suggest that maturation and migration are closely linked to seasonal warming and the zooplankton cycle. Given the high spawning mortality of capelin, it seems that this linkage favours maximum gonad production rather than adult survival. Knowledge of spring water temperatures would permit some prediction of capelin spawning time. However, the data series for mean length used in this analysis is not useful for predicting spawning time.

Utility of Meristic and Morphometric Characters for Identification of Capelin (Mallotus villosus) Stocks in Canadian Atlantic Waters

1978 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan C. Sharp ◽  
Kenneth W. Able ◽  
William C. Leggett ◽  
James E. Carscadden
Keyword(s):  
Mallotus Villosus ◽  
Meristic Characters ◽  
Body Depth ◽  
Morphometric Characters ◽  
Lawrence Estuary ◽  
Grand Banks ◽  
Capelin Mallotus Villosus ◽  
Statistical Separation ◽  
And Migration ◽  
St Lawrence Estuary

Multivariate discriminant function analyses were performed on 9 morphometric and 11 meristic characters of capelin (Mallotus villosus) samples at Île aux Coudres in the St. Lawrence estuary; Sept Îles, Natashquan, and Grande Rivière in the Gulf of St. Lawrence; Southeast Shoal on the Grand Banks; and Herring Neck, Notre Dame Bay, Newfoundland. Analyses of meristic characters provided no evidence of discrete stocks. Analyses of morphometric characters provided strong statistical separation between areas. A posteriori classification of groups yielded 93.1% correct classification for males and 73.3% for females. Only snout length, eye diameter, head length, and body depth contributed significantly to the separation obtained. These findings suggest that meristic characters offer little potential for stock identification in Canadian Atlantic waters. Morphometric characters may prove useful, but further study, corroborated with life history and migration data, is required to confirm this. Key words: capelin, Mallotus villosus, meristics, morphometrics, stock separation, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Newfoundland, Canadian Atlantic, multivariate analysis

Interactive Effects of Geophysically-Forced Sea Temperatures and Prey Abundance on Mesoscale Coastal Distributions of a Marine Predator, Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua)

1989 ◽  
Vol 46 (11) ◽  
pp. 1904-1913 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. Rose ◽  
W. C. Leggett
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Zone ◽  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Atlantic Cod ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Prey Abundance ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Mallotus Villosus ◽  
Sea Temperature ◽  
Marine Predator ◽  
Capelin Mallotus Villosus

Geophysically-forced sea temperatures and prey abundance interactively regulated mesoscale (10's to 100's of km) inshore Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua) distribution patterns in the northeastern Gulf of St. Lawrence, in both 1985 and 1986. Cod were located most often at temperatures within the range 0–5 °C. However, when mean densities of their chief prey (capelin, Mallotus villosus) were high (> 100/105m3) within the coastal zone, cod frequented waters having temperatures similar to those at which this prey were aggregated, within the broader range of temperatures −0.5 to 8.5 °C. The proportions of cod occupying sea temperature strata were significantly and positively correlated with those of capelin (r = 0.64, slope = 0.6, df = 86), in both 1985 and 1986, under two conditions: (1) sea temperatures within the range 1–9 °C; and (2) mean capelin densities > 100/105m3. Under conditions of lower mean capelin densities, cod distributions were independent of those of capelin. At temperatures outside the range 1–9 °C, cod and capelin densities were not correlated, regardless of capelin densities.

Selective Exploitation of Capelin (Mallotus villosus) Eggs by Winter Flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus): Capelin Egg Mortality Rates, and Contribution of Egg Energy to the Annual Growth of Flounder

1984 ◽  
Vol 41 (9) ◽  
pp. 1294-1302 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. T. Frank ◽  
W. C. Leggett
Keyword(s):  
Average Energy ◽  
Winter Flounder ◽  
Annual Growth ◽  
Pseudopleuronectes Americanus ◽  
Mallotus Villosus ◽  
Egg Mortality ◽  
Capelin Mallotus Villosus ◽  
Gonad Production ◽  
Conception Bay ◽  
Spawning Sites

The consequences of winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) predation on capelin (Mallotus villosus) eggs, both in terms of the egg mortality and of the contribution of energy ingested to the annual growth of flounder, were investigated at Bryant's Cove, Conception Bay, Newfoundland. Flounder density in the nearshore area adjacent to the capelin spawning beach increased sharply in each of the three study years in response to the presence of spawning capelin and to the density of capelin eggs on the spawning beaches. Capelin eggs were the dominant item inthedietofwinterflounder14–34 cm TL, averaging 59% by weight. Flounder [Formula: see text] fed less heavily on capelin eggs (22% of food consumed by weight) but because of their larger size and ration were an important source of predation. Egg mortality due to flounder predation was estimated to average 5.0, 2.2, and 1.9% in 1978, 1979, and 1980, respectively. Egg mortality due to predation is believed to be significantly greater at deepwater demersal spawning sites and may have a significant impact on recruitment in demersal spawners. The average energy gain to winter flounder resulting from consumption of capelin eggs was estimated to contribute 23% of the annual growth of flounder in the region (approximate 95% confidence interval: 10–40%). Selective exploitation of capelin eggs by postspawning flounder may also contribute significantly to the rapid recovery of body condition following the extensive depletion of tissue resources due to winter fasting, gonad production, and spawning.

Age- and Sex-Specific Survival of Northern Grand Bank Capelin (Mallotus villosus)

1994 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 642-649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy L. Shackell ◽  
Peter A. Shelton ◽  
John M. Hoenig ◽  
James E. Carscadden
Keyword(s):  
Survival Rates ◽  
Linear Least Squares ◽  
Mallotus Villosus ◽  
Specific Behavior ◽  
Survival Estimate ◽  
Average Survival ◽  
Capelin Mallotus Villosus ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Mature Fish ◽  
Immature Fish

Age-specific, sex-specific survival rates for immature and mature capelin (Mallotus villosus) were estimated by linear least-squares models, using abundance data derived from annual acoustic/trawl research surveys conducted from 1982 to 1990 on the northern Grand Bank. Survival estimates for age 2 immature fish were comparable between sexes (annual survival equals approximately 40%). Survival estimates for age 4 mature fish differed between sexes, with females having a higher (25–51%) average survival estimate than males (6%). Survival estimates for immature and mature age 3 fish were equivocal; immature males and females had comparable rates (30.3–32.3 and 15.2–26.6%, respectively) whereas a greater proportion of mature females (25–50%) survived than of mature males (2.5–13%). The stated ranges denote survival estimates including and excluding an influential data point, respectively. Higher average survival of mature females than of mature males may be a result of sex-specific behavior during beach spawning. The average annual contribution of surviving mature females to the total number of female spawners was estimated as 24–47%.

scholarly journals Early life growth is affecting timing of spawning in the semelparous Barents Sea capelin (Mallotus villosus)

2021 ◽  
pp. 102614
Author(s):  
Florian Berg ◽  
Samina Shirajee ◽  
Arild Folkvord ◽  
Jane Aanestad Godiksen ◽  
Georg Skaret ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Life ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
Mallotus Villosus ◽  
Capelin Mallotus Villosus ◽  
Timing Of Spawning

Channel head dynamics: capelin (Mallotus villosus) aggregation in the tidally driven upwelling system of the Saguenay - St. Lawrence Marine Park's whale feeding ground

2002 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvan Simard ◽  
Diane Lavoie ◽  
François J Saucier
Keyword(s):  
Circulation Model ◽  
Feeding Strategies ◽  
Total Biomass ◽  
Balaenoptera Acutorostrata ◽  
Mallotus Villosus ◽  
Tidal Dynamics ◽  
Lawrence Estuary ◽  
Fin Whale ◽  
Capelin Mallotus Villosus ◽  
Tidally Driven

Capelin (Mallotus villosus) tridimensional distribution at the head of the Laurentian Channel in the St. Lawrence estuary was investigated using 38- and 120-kHz acoustic surveys in the summers of 1994, 1995, 1997, and 1998. The results are interpreted with the help of a high-resolution tridimensional tidal circulation model. Total biomasses were small (93–4583 t) and showed rapid fluctuations, whereas mesoscale distribution was more constant. Capelin tended to occupy the very end of the channel head, especially the slopes and shallows surrounding the basins. This pattern did not coincide with the krill distribution, but the two total biomass series were significantly correlated. Capelin tidal dynamics is characterized by herding of capelin against the channel head slopes by the starting flooding currents, followed by an upwelling over the sills and shallows during maximum flood currents, and a return to the channel by the surface outflow during ebb. Each side of the channel head has a distinct capelin retention tidal cycle involving passive advection, swimming, and the two-layer estuarine circulation. This capelin distribution and tidal dynamics closely match the local fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) and minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) distributions observed from the whale-watching fleet and typical tidal feeding strategies at the channel head.

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