Authors: Padmini Dalpadado Bjarte Bogstad Elena Eriksen Laura Rey
Publish Date: 2009/06/28
Volume: 32, Issue: 11, Pages: 1583-
Abstract
Distribution of 0group cod Gadus morhua and haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus in August–September 2005 and 2006 was mainly restricted to the Atlantic waters of the western and central areas of the Barents Sea The main distribution of 0group fish overlapped largely with areas of high biomass 7 gm−2 dry weight of zooplankton The copepod Calanus finmarchicus and krill Thysanoessa inermis which are dominant zooplankton species in both Atlantic and boreal waters of the Barents Sea were the main prey of 0group cod and haddock The main distribution feeding areas and prey of 0group cod and haddock overlapped implying that competition for food may occur between the two species However though their diet coincided to a certain degree haddock seems to prefer smaller and less mobile prey such as Limacina and appendicularians As 0group fish increased in size there seems to be a shift in diet from small copepods and towards larger prey such as krill and fish Overall a largely pelagic feeding behaviour of 0group cod and haddock was evident from this studyThis project was part of the research programme “Ecosystem Barents Sea” at the Institute of Marine Research Bergen Norway We thank Harry Williams Haakon Hop Fran Mowbray and one anonymous referee for constructive comments on a previous version of the manuscript
Keywords: