Synopsis
Slimy sculpins (Cottus cognatus) were caught in the littoral region of Toolik Lake, an arctic lake. These sculpins grew slower and lived longer (71 mm at 8+ years) than more southerly populations. Sculpin distribution along the slope of the rocky littoral zone was greatest at the 3.5 m depth and coincided with the rock-mud interface. The hypothesis that this ‘preferred’ area provided both increased prey and reduced predation was advanced. Yearly production estimate of littoral sculpins was 0.40 g · m−2 · yr−1 with a P/B ratio of 0.36. This is considerably less than estimates for more southerly populations of the same species.
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McDonald, M.E., Cuker, B.E. & Mozley, S.C. Distribution, production, and age structure of slimy sculpin in an Arctic lake. Environ Biol Fish 7, 171–176 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00001788
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00001788