Walleye Pollock Gadus chalcogrammus, a Species with Continuous Range from the Norwegian Sea to Korea, Japan, and California: New Records from the Siberian Arctic

Abstract

The first records of walleye pollock Gadus chalcogrammus Pallas, 1814 in the seas of the Siberian Arctic (the Laptev Sea, the Kara Sea, the southeastern Barents Sea), are documented. Information about the external morphology (morphometric and meristic characters), photos of sagittal otoliths and fish, and data on the sequences of the CO1 mtDNA gene are presented. The results of a comparative analysis indicate that walleye pollock caught in the Siberian Arctic do not differ in principle from North Pacific and North Atlantic individuals. Previous conclusions about the conspecificity of the walleye and Norwegian pollock Theragra finnmarchica are confirmed. New captures of walleye pollock in the Siberian Arctic allow us to formulate a hypothesis about its continuous species’ range from the coasts of Norway in the North Atlantic to the coasts of Korea, Japan, and California in the North Pacific. The few records of walleye pollock in the North Atlantic originate from the North Pacific due to the transport of early pelagic juveniles to the Arctic by currents through the Bering Strait and further active westward migrations of individuals which have switched to the bentho-pelagic mode of life.

First Record of the Northern Wolffish Anarhichas denticulatus Krøyer, 1845 (Anarhichadidae: Zoarcoidei: Perciformes) in the Siberian Arctic: Further Evidence of Atlantification?

“…At the same time, the minimum number of nucleotide substitutions (44) is recorded between Anarrichthys ocellatus and Anarhichas lupus. It should be noted that North Atlantic wolffishes are characterized by low genetic diversity and low population differentiation [67,68], which is not typical for many other marine fishes (e.g., [70][71][72][73]). The materials analyzed by us, although few in number, confirm the previous conclusions [68].…”

“…However, McCusker and Bentzen [67] using microsatellite loci showed the presence of genetic differences between samples from the Barents Sea and the rest of the North Atlantic. This may probably mean the presence of at It should be noted that North Atlantic wolffishes are characterized by low genetic diversity and low population differentiation [67,68], which is not typical for many other marine fishes (e.g., [70][71][72][73]). The materials analyzed by us, although few in number, confirm the previous conclusions [68].…”

Shifts in the composition and distribution of Pacific Arctic larval fish assemblages in response to rapid ecosystem change

“…Yet, with the Pacific Arctic becoming more hospitable for some of these warmer water fishes (Alabia et al, 2020;Spies et al, 2019), reproduction of boreal fish species in the Chukchi Sea may already be a reality. In 2019, adult pollock were found in large numbers in the western Chukchi Sea (Orlov, Gorbatenko, et al, 2021;Orlov, Rybakov, et al, 2021), which is notable considering that adult pollock were previously thought to be scarce in shallow Chukchi Sea waters (Mecklenburg et al, 2018). Levine et al (2023) Climate-mediated impacts on spawning phenology may have also contributed to the observed larval fish assemblage shifts.…”

Small and Abundant but Understudied Ribbed Sculpin Triglops pingelii (Cottidae, Teleostei) from the Kara Sea (Siberian Arctic): Distribution, Biology, and Comparison with Congeners

“…In 2019, during the transarctic expedition on board RV "Professor Levanidov" [32,33], the material was collected, which allowed us to characterize the features of distribution and biology of the number of species in the Kara Sea [34,35]. The aim of this paper is to present new data on size-age and size-sex structures, fecundity, growth, and diet of ribbed sculpin in the Kara Sea, and to compare the data obtained with those from other parts of this species' range, as well as with those of its most abundant and common congeners inhabiting the Northwest Pacific and Arctic.…”