Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Life history differences and latitudinal variation in recruitment in two species of arctic-boreal perciform fishes, the fish doctor Gymnelus viridis and the Arctic shanny Stichaeus punctatus

  • Published:
Journal of Ichthyology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Growth and recruitment were examined in two arctic-boreal, shallow water marine perciform species: the fish doctor Gymnelus viridis (Zoarcidae) and the Arctic shanny Stichaeus punctatus (Stichaeidae). G. viridis ranges in the Canadian Arctic from northern Hudson Bay to northern Ellesmere Island, whereas S. punctatus has a more southerly range from Nova Scotia coastal waters to northern Hudson Bay. At Nuvuk Islands in northeastern Hudson Bay, where the two species are sympatric in shallow water, they had comparable juvenile growth rates but temporal variation in 0+ recruitment was substantially greater in S. punctatus. This difference may stem from their contrasting early life histories. S. punctatus spawns large numbers of small demersal eggs that hatch into pelagic larvae, whereas G. viridis spawns small numbers of large demersal eggs that hatch directly into demersal juveniles with no pelagic stage, suggesting that recruitment in G. viridis should be less sensitive to yearly variation in the onset of the ice-free period in Hudson Bay and the subsequent pulse of pelagic invertebrate production. Relative to Nuvuk, recruitment variation in G. viridis was found to be greater at Resolute, Cornwallis Island, close to its northern range limit, whereas recruitment variation in S. punctatus was not evident in Newfoundland, closer to its southern range limit.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anderson, M.E, Revision of the fish genera Gymnelus Reinhardt and Gymnelopsios Soldatov (Zoarcidae), with two new species and comparative osteology of Gymnelus viridis, Natl. Mus. Can. Publ. Zool., 1982, vol. 17, pp. 1–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Araújo, M.B., and Pearson, R.G, Equilibrium of species’ distributions with climate, Ecography, 2005, vol. 28, pp. 693–695. doi 10.1111/j.2005.0906-7590.04253.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brunel, T., and Boucher, J, Pattern of recruitment variability in the geographic range of the exploited northeast Atlantic fish species, J. Sea Res., 2006, vol. 55, pp. 156–168. doi 10.1016/j.seares.2005.07.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheung, W.W.L., Lam, V.W.Y., Sarmiento, J.L., Kearney, K., Watson, R., and Pauly, D, Projecting global marine biodiversity impacts under climate change scenarios, Fish Fish., 2009, vol. 10, pp. 235–251. doi 10.1111/j.1467-2979.2008.00315.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, A, Life in cold water: the physiological ecology of polar marine ectotherms, in Oceanography and Marine Biology— An Annual Review, Boca Raton, FL: CRC, 1983, vol. 21, pp. 341–453.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, A., and North, A.W., Is the growth of polar fish limited by temperature? in Biology of Antarctic Fish, di Prisco, G., Eds., Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1991, pp. 54–69.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Cushing, D.H, Plankton production and year-class strength in fish populations: an update of the match/mismatch hypothesis, Adv. Mar. Biol., 1990, vol. 26, pp. 249–293. doi 10.1016/S0065-2881(08)60202-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drolet, R., Fortier, L., Ponton, D., and Gilbert, M, Production of fish larvae and their prey in subarctic southeastern Hudson Bay, Mar. Ecol.: Progr. Ser., 1991, vol. 77, pp. 105–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duhamel, G., The biological and demographic peculiarities of the icefish Champsocephalus gunnari Lonnberg, 1905 from the Kerguelen Plateau, in Biology of Antarctic Fish, di Prisco, G., Eds., Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1991, pp. 40–53.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Dunbar, M.J., Ecological Development in Polar Regions, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1968.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunbrack, R., Green, J.M., and Mlewa, C.M, Marbled lungfish growth rates in Lake Baringo, Kenya, estimated by mark-recapture, J. Fish Biol., 2006, vol. 68, pp. 443–449. doi 10.1111/j.0022-1112.2006.00906.x

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunbrack, R., Giguere, L.A., and St-Pierre, J.F., A comparison of gut evacuation models for larval mackerel (Scomber scombrus) using serial photography, J. Fish Biol., 2009, vol. 74, pp. 906–920. doi 10.1111/j.1095- 8649.2008.02177.x

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Farwell, M.K., Green, J.M., and Pepper, V.A., Distribution and known life history of Stichaeus punctatus in the northwest Atlantic, Copeia, 1976, pp. 598–602. doi 10.2307/1443388

  • Finstad, A.G., Forseth, T., Jonsson, B., Bellier, E., Hesthagen, T., Jensen, A.J., Hessen, D.O., and Foldvik, A, Competitive exclusion along climate gradients: energy efficiency influences the distribution of two salmonid fishes, Global Change Biol., 2011, vol. 17, pp. 1703–1711. doi 10.1111/j.1365-2486.2010.02335.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fortier, L., Ponton, D., and Gilbert, M, The match/mismatch hypothesis and the feeding success of fish larvae in ice-covered southeastern Hudson Bay, Mar. Ecol.: Progr. Ser., 1995, vol. 120, pp. 11–27. doi 10.3354/meps120011

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilkinson, K.D., Green, J.M., and Keats, D.W, Shallow water marine mollusks (Bivalvia, Gastropods, Amphineura) collected in the vicinity of the Nuvuk Islands, Northwest Territories, Canada. Nat. Can., 1986, vol. 113, pp. 83–89.

    Google Scholar 

  • Green, J.M., and Mitchell, L.R, Biology of the fish doctor, an eelpout, from Cornwallis Island, Northwest territories, Canada, in A Review of Fish Ecology in Arctic North America, Reynolds, J.B., Ed., Bethesda, MA: Am. Fish. Soc., 1997, vol. 19, pp. 140–147.

    Google Scholar 

  • Green, J.M., and Steele, D.H, Observations on marine life beneath sea ice, Resolute Bay, N.W.T., in Proc. Circumpolar Conf. on Northern Ecology, Ottawa: Natl. Res. Counc. Can., 1977, pp. 77–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton, J., Prinsenberg, S., and Malloch, L, Moored current meter and ctd observations from Barrow Strait, 1998–1999, Can. Data Rep. Hydrogr. Ocean Sci., 2002, vol. 157, pp. 1–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hjort, J, Fluctuations in the great fisheries of northern Europe viewed in the light of biological research, Rapp. P.- V. Reun. - Cons. Int. Explor. Mer, 1914, vol. 20, pp. 1–228.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunter, J.G., Leach, S.T., McAllister, D.E., and Steigerwald, M.B., A distributional atlas of records of the marine fishes of Arctic Canada in the National Museums of Canada and Arctic Biological Station, Natl. Mus. Can. Syllogeus, 1984, vol. 52, pp. 1–35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ingram, R.G., and Prinsenberg, S., Coastal oceanography of Hudson Bay and surrounding Canadian Arctic waters coastal segment, in The Sea, Robinson, A.R., and Brink, K.H., Eds., Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press,1998, vol. 11, chap. 29, pp. 835–861.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keats, D.W., Green, J.M., and Hooper, R.G, Arctic algal communities in the region of the Nuvuk Islands, Northeastern Hudson Bay, Canada, Nat. Can., 1989, vol. 116, pp. 53–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keats, D.W., Steele, D.H. Green, J.M., and Martell, G.M, Diet and population size structure of the Arctic shanny, Stichaeus punctatus (Pisces: Stichaeidae), at sites in eastern Newfoundland and the eastern Arctic, Environ. Biol. Fish., 1993, vol. 37, pp. 173–180. doi 10.1007/BF00000592

    Google Scholar 

  • Laprise, R., and Pepin, P, Factors influencing the spatiotemporal occurrence of fish eggs and larvae in a northern, physically dynamic coastal environment, Mar. Ecol.: Progr. Ser., 1995, vol. 122, pp. 73–92. doi 10.3354/MEPS122073

    Google Scholar 

  • Leggett, W.C., and Frank, K.T., A comparative analysis of recruitment variability in North Atlantic flatfishes—testing the species range hypothesis, J. Sea Res., 1997, vol. 37, pp. 281–299. doi 10.1016/S1385-1101(97)00023-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald, P.D.M., and Pitcher, T.J, Age-groups from size-frequency data: a versatile and efficient method of analyzing distribution mixtures, J. Fish. Res. Board Can., 1979, vol. 36, pp. 987–1001. doi 10.1139/f79-137

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Markam, W.E., The ice cover, in Canadian Inland Seas, Elsevier Oceanogr. Ser., Martini, I.R., Ed., New York: Elsevier,1986, vol. 44, pp 101–116.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Marshall, N.B, Egg size in Arctic, Antarctic, and deep-sea fishes, Evolution, 1953, vol. 7, pp. 328–341. doi 10.2307/2405343

    Google Scholar 

  • McAllister, D.E, Ecology of the marine fishes of Canada, in Proc. Circumpolar Conf. on Northern Ecology, Ottawa: Natl. Res. Counc. Can., 1977, pp. 49–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCall, A.D., Dynamic Geography of Marine Fish Populations, Seattle: Univ. of Washington Press, 1990.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mecklenburg, C.W., Moller, P.R., and Steinke, D, Biodiversity of Arctic marine fishes: taxonomy and zoogeography, Mar. Biodiversity, 2011, vol. 41, pp. 109–140. doi 10.1007/s12526-010-0070-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Munk, P., Hansen, B.W., Nielsen, T.G., and Thomsen, H.A, Changes in plankton and fish larvae communities across hydrographic fronts off west Greenland, J. Plankton Res., 2003, vol. 25, pp. 815–830. doi 10.1093/plankt/25.7.815

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myers, R.A, Recruitment variability and range of three fish species, NAFO Scie. Counc. Stud., 1991, vol. 16, pp. 21–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parmesan, C, Ecological and evolutionary responses to recent climate change, Annu. Rev. Ecol., Evol., Syst., 2006, vol. 37, pp. 637–669. doi 10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.37. 091305.110100

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pepin, P, Effect of temperature and size on development, mortality and survival rates of the pelagic early life history stages of marine fish, Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 1991, vol. 48, pp. 503–518. doi 10.1139/f91-065

    Google Scholar 

  • Philippart, C.J.M., Henderson, P.A., Johannessen, T., Rijnsdorp, A.D., and Rogers, S.I, Latitudinal variation in fish recruits in Northwest Europe, J. Sea Res., 1998, vol. 39, pp. 69–77. doi 10.1016/S1385-1101(97)00016-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pulliam, H.R, On the relationship between niche and distribution, Ecol. Lett., 2000, vol. 3, pp. 349–361. doi 10.1046/j.1461-0248.2000.00143.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robertson, D.R., and Smith-Vaniz, W.F, Rotenone: an essential but demonized tool for assessing marine fish diversity, BioScience, 2008, vol. 58, pp. 165–170. doi 10.1641/B580211

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Runge, J.A., Therriault, J-C., Legendre, L., Ingram, R.G., and Demers, S, Coupling between ice microalgal productivity and the pelagic, metazoan food web in southeastern Hudson Bay: a synthesis of results, Polar Res., 1991, vol. 10, pp. 325–338. doi 10.1111/j.1751-8369.1991.tb00657.x

    Google Scholar 

  • Scott, W.B. and Scott, M.G., Atlantic Fishes of Canada, Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1988.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sexton, J.P., McIntyre, P.J., Angert, A.L., and Rice, K.J, Evolution and ecology of species range limits, Annu. Rev. Ecol., Evol., Syst., 2009, vol. 40, pp. 415–436. doi 10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.110308.120317

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Traxler, R.R., and Wheeler, G.L, World-Wide Sea-Surface Temperatures, Aerospace Sciences Division 5th Weather Wing Report A298131, Langley, 1983.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weinerroither, R.M., Nedreaas, K.H., Uiblein, F., Christiansen, J.S., Byrkjedal, I., and Karamushko, O, The marine fishes of Jan Mayen Island, NEAtlantic—past and present, Mar. Biodiversity, 2011, vol. 41, pp. 395–411. doi 10.1007/s12526-010-0055-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Welch, H.E., Siferd, T.D., and Bruecker, P, Marine zooplankton and benthic community respiration rates at Resolute, Canadian high Arctic, Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 1997, vol. 54, pp. 999–1005. doi 10.1139/f97-006

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Memorial University, St. John’s, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada

    R. Dunbrack & J. M. Green

Authors
  1. R. Dunbrack
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. J. M. Green
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. M. Green.

Additional information

The article is published in the original.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Dunbrack, R., Green, J.M. Life history differences and latitudinal variation in recruitment in two species of arctic-boreal perciform fishes, the fish doctor Gymnelus viridis and the Arctic shanny Stichaeus punctatus . J. Ichthyol. 57, 380–392 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0032945217030055

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0032945217030055

Keywords

Search

Navigation