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The diets of polar cod (Boreogadus saida) from August 2008 in the US Beaufort Sea

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Abstract

Polar cod (Boreogadus saida) play an integral part in the Arctic ecosystems linking the upper and lower trophic levels. Though their estimated biomass is considerable, recent knowledge of their diets in the US Beaufort Sea is sparse. Collections of polar cod from the US Beaufort Sea were made during August 2008 using demersal and pelagic trawls. Polar cod diet composition was quantified as percent prey weight, percent prey count, and frequency of occurrence of prey. The diet composition between the demersal- and pelagic-captured cod showed differences in all these categories. Polar cod captured in the demersal nets primarily fed on fish (by weight), and pelagic cod primarily fed on copepods (frequency of occurrence) and euphausiids (by weight). In general, these dominant preys are different than what has been reported in other studies describing polar cod diets.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Troy Buckley and Christina Jump of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) and two anonymous reviewers for their very helpful reviews.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Resource Ecology and Fisheries Management Division, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, 7600 Sand Point Way N.E, Seattle, WA, 98115, USA

    Kimberly M. Rand & Elizabeth A. Logerwell

  2. Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean, University of Washington, Box 354925, Seattle, WA, 98105, USA

    Andy Whitehouse

  3. School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, Institute of Marine Science, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Box 757220, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA

    Ernestine Ahgeak

  4. School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Box 355020, Seattle, WA, 98195-5020, USA

    Richard Hibpshman & Sandra Parker-Stetter

Authors
  1. Kimberly M. Rand
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  2. Andy Whitehouse
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  3. Elizabeth A. Logerwell
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  4. Ernestine Ahgeak
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  5. Richard Hibpshman
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  6. Sandra Parker-Stetter
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Correspondence to Kimberly M. Rand.

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Rand, K.M., Whitehouse, A., Logerwell, E.A. et al. The diets of polar cod (Boreogadus saida) from August 2008 in the US Beaufort Sea. Polar Biol 36, 907–912 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-013-1303-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-013-1303-y

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