Distribution and diet of larval and juvenile Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) in the shallow Canadian Beaufort Sea

Spatial variability of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotope ratios in an Arctic marine food web

“…The variability was most pronounced in smaller demersal fish species, such as small cod and polar cod. The spatial differences in RTL in these omnivorous species may indeed be indicative of diet changes, as might be expected considering the large distances between sampling sites (Yano et al 2007, Walkusz et al 2011 and potential shifts in prey species composition. In the case of the Greenland shark, the RTL differences may also be explained by the fact that the higher RTL values in Areas 3 and 4 compared to 2 were based on sharks that on average were 4.5 m long compared to 2.7 m in Area 2.…”

The importance of Calanus glacialis for the feeding success of young polar cod: a circumpolar synthesis

“…Calanus glacialis, the staple food of young epipelagic polar cod in offshore Arctic seas Earlier studies reported on the numerical importance of copepod eggs and nauplii as prey of polar cod larvae < 14 mm (Drolet et al 1991;Gilbert et al 1992;Michaud et al 1996;Walkusz et al 2011). Microalgae, rotifers, tintinnids, invertebrate larvae, and appendicularians may also be numerically important in the first weeks of life, especially around river plumes (Gilbert et al 1992;Walkusz et al 2011), but are unlikely to contribute substantially to carbon intake due to their diminutive size. In the Greenland Sea, polar cod > 10 mm successfully captured all copepodite stages of small cyclopoids (Oithona similis, Triconia borealis) and the C1-C3 of the larger calanoids (Pseudocalanus spp., C. hyperboreus, C. glacialis, C. finmarchicus) with positive selection restricted to C. glacialis only (Michaud et al 1996).…”

Impacts of the Changing Ocean-Sea Ice System on the Key Forage Fish Arctic Cod (Boreogadus Saida) and Subsistence Fisheries in the Western Canadian Arctic—Evaluating Linked Climate, Ecosystem and Economic (CEE) Models

“…Young Arctic cod (1-2 years) are often associated with the underside of sea ice where iceassociated (sympagic) amphipods and copepods (at all life stages) are key prey species (Bradstreet and Cross, 1982;Lønne and Gulliksen, 1989;David et al, 2015David et al, , 2016Kohlbach et al, 2016Kohlbach et al, , 2017. Under ice Arctic cod larvae mainly feed on copepod eggs and naupli (Walkusz et al, 2011) but 26% of their stomach contents can comprise of ice algal cells (Gilbert et al, 1992). Fatty acid profiles of Arctic cod further indicate that (ice algal) diatoms are the primary carbon source, indirectly obtained via amphipods and copepods (Kohlbach et al, 2017).…”