Journal
ICES JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE
Volume 74, Issue 9, Pages 2389-2397Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/icesjms/fsx088
Keywords
0-group cod; Barents Sea; body condition; lobe formations; otolith shape; settlement
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This study documents how settlement of juvenile Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the Barents Sea affects otolith growth and morphology. A simple method to objectively discriminate between age 0 and age 1 cod sampled in late summer was demonstrated by using only two otolith morphometric descriptors: area and perimeter. In the pre-settled 0-group cod, otolith lobe formation clearly increased with fish size, resulting in high otolith crenulation. This trend was disrupted during settlement, resulting in noticeably less crenulated otoliths of the settled 1-group cod sampled in winter. Combined observations of otolith shape, fish size, and body condition suggest that environmental factors associated with settlement during autumn, particularly reduced food intake, directly affect lobe formation leading to less crenulated otoliths. Comparably reduced body condition and otolith crenulation of 0-group cod in bottom trawls (vs. pelagic trawls) may indicate early settlement or vertical exploratory behaviour in the Barents Sea Ecosystem Survey (in August-September) and, thus, an underrepresentation of 0-group cod from pelagic trawling.
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