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Spatial and temporal variation of late summer ichthyoplankton assemblage structure in the eastern Chukchi Sea: 2010–2015

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Abstract

The survival of the planktonic stages of marine fishes is widely considered to be a bottleneck in recruitment success and is a period when fishes are highly sensitive to changes in their environment. In high latitude areas that are forecasted to experience warming temperatures, it is critical to determine a baseline of ichthyoplankton assemblages to detect how the ecosystem may change in response to shifting conditions. This study used ichthyoplankton data from the eastern Chukchi Sea in the summers of 2010–2015 to assess temporal and spatial variation in assemblage structure. Larval densities were examined in relation to oceanographic conditions at depth and corresponding water masses. Additionally, the standard lengths of polar cod (Boreogadus saida), a key trophic link in Arctic food webs, were assessed for size-at-catch relationships. In 2010 and 2011, years of widespread presence of warm, low salinity bottom water masses such as Alaska Coastal Water, yellowfin sole (Limanda aspera) and longhead dab (Limanda proboscidea) dominated the assemblages. In 2012 and 2013, the increased presence of colder, more saline Winter Water coincided with a shift to polar cod-dominated assemblages. In 2014 and 2015, water masses were less spatially defined and different assemblages, characterized by Arctic sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus) and saffron cod (Eleginus gracilis), were detected than previous years. The greatest range in sizes of polar cod was observed in 2014, as well as the highest number of juveniles and age-1 individuals were collected. The biophysical patterns identified here support the strong connection between interannual oceanographic conditions and ichthyoplankton assemblages which reflect the importance of continuous, multi-year surveys to document assemblage changes in the Arctic.

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Acknowledgements

We thank D. Blood, A. Deary, E. Logerwell, and A. Matarese for reviews of early manuscript drafts. We thank the scientists at the Plankton Sorting and Identification Center in Szczecin, Poland for processing and compiling data on the ichthyoplankton samples collected during each of the surveys. In addition, thanks are extended to the officers, crew, and scientific staff of the survey vessels: F/V American Eagle, F/V Mystery Bay, F/V Aquila, and NOAA ship Ronald Brown. Results presented in this study from 2010 to 2013 were part of the Chukchi Sea Acoustics, Oceanography, and Zooplankton (CHAOZ) study which was funded by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM; Contract No. M09PG0016. Results from 2014 to 2015 were part of the Arctic Whale Ecology Study (ArcWest) which was supported by the U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Alaska Outer Continental Shelf Region, Anchorage, Alaska, through an Interagency Agreement between BOEM and the Marine Mammal Laboratory (M12PG00021), as part of the BOEM Alaska Environmental Studies Program. We also acknowledge Catherine Berchok, Phyllis Stabeno, and Jeff Napp for the initiation of the CHAOZ and ArcWest projects. The findings and conclusions in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA.

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  1. Ocean Associates Incorporated, 4007 N. Abingdon St., Arlington, VA, 22207, USA

    Jessica R. Randall

  2. Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering Division, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA, 98115-6349, USA

    Morgan S. Busby, Adam H. Spear & Kathryn L. Mier

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Randall, J.R., Busby, M.S., Spear, A.H. et al. Spatial and temporal variation of late summer ichthyoplankton assemblage structure in the eastern Chukchi Sea: 2010–2015. Polar Biol 42, 1811–1824 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-019-02555-8

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