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Long-term changes in the ichthyofauna of the Pechora Sea in response to ocean warming

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Abstract

Ichthyological studies are an important part of the research effort on the water ecosystems of the Arctic. However, data on the changes in the ichthyofauna of the Arctic seas are scarce and contradictory. We studied species composition of trawl catches made in 1980–2015 in the coastal and the open part of the Pechora Sea (south-eastern Barents Sea). We determined the relative abundance (individuals per hour of trawling) of the dominant fish species in the coastal and the open zone and described the taxonomic status of fish and their ecological grouping by distribution area and predominant type of feeding. Cluster analysis revealed four groups of study years similar in respect of the proportion of dominant fish species in trawl catches. The species diversity of the ichthyofauna increased over the study period and so did the number of predominantly Arctic species in the catches. On the contrary, the proportion of Arctic species such as polar cod decreased. In our opinion, this was caused by the changes in the mean water temperature, which showed a tendency to increase over the study period. A comparative analysis of the ichthyofauna of the Pechora Sea and the Baydaratskaya Bay of the Kara Sea revealed differences in the dominance of Arctic and boreal fishes, which might have been associated with the differences in the mean annual temperature in these water bodies. Our results can be used as background data for further monitoring of climate change.

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Acknowledgements

We appreciate the help of SevPINRO colleagues, who collected fish samples during the expeditions. We are grateful to Dr. Alexey A. Sukhotin (Zoological institute RAS) for corrections and advice. Special thanks are due to Dr. Natalia I. Lavrinova (Northern [Arctic] Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov), Dr. Natalia Lentsman and PhD Anna Zashikhina for the help with translation. We gratefully acknowledge the critical remarks made by anonymous referees.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Knipovich Polar Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography, Northern Branch (SevPINRO), Uritskogo st. 17, Arkhangelsk, 163002, Russia

    Andrey V. Semushin, Alexander P. Novoselov, Vladimir S. Sherstkov, Alexander L. Levitsky & Yulia V. Novikova

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  1. Andrey V. Semushin
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  2. Alexander P. Novoselov
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  3. Vladimir S. Sherstkov
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  4. Alexander L. Levitsky
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  5. Yulia V. Novikova
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Correspondence to Andrey V. Semushin.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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This article belongs to the special issue on the “Ecology of the Pechora Sea”, coordinated by Alexey A. Sukhotin.

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Semushin, A.V., Novoselov, A.P., Sherstkov, V.S. et al. Long-term changes in the ichthyofauna of the Pechora Sea in response to ocean warming. Polar Biol 42, 1739–1751 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-018-2405-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-018-2405-3

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