Liver energy, atresia and oocyte stage influence fecundity regulation in Northeast Arctic cod

Abstract

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 404:173-183 (2010) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08486 Liver energy, atresia and oocyte stage influence fecundity regulation in Northeast Arctic cod Jon Egil Skjæraasen1,*, Richard D. M. Nash2, James Kennedy1,3, Anders Thorsen2, Trygve Nilsen4, Olav Sigurd Kjesbu2 1Department of Biology, University of Bergen, 5020 Bergen, Norway 2Institute of Marine Research, PO Box 1870 Nordnes, 5817 Bergen, Norway 3Møreforskning Ålesund, PO Box 5075, 5021 Ålesund, Norway 4Department of Mathematics, University of Bergen, 5020 Bergen, Norway *Email: jon.skjaeraasen@bio.uib.no ABSTRACT: Marine ecosystems are changing; global warming-induced increases in water temperatures and fishing have caused truncated age structures and small sizes at maturity in many stocks. This may affect both populations’ total reproductive output and the link between population demography and recruitment, yet detailed information on fecundity regulation is generally lacking for marine fishes. We therefore examined associations between liver energy, oocyte stage, leading cohort oocyte size (LC20), atresia and fecundity for the Northeast Arctic cod (NEAC) Gadus morhua L. from 2006 to 2008 in a comprehensive field and laboratory study. The relationship between the relative liver size (hepatosomatic index, HSI) and specific liver energy content was best described by an asymptotic curve, increasing rapidly at first, then levelling of at HSI > 6%. LC20 increased towards the spawning season, but was also positively associated with total length. At present there is thus a tendency towards larger NEAC females spawning earlier. The incidence of atresia was highest during the advanced yolk granule stage. Only 1% of females that reached an LC20 > 300 µm absorbed all oocytes and thereby aborted spawning. Potential fecundity showed a parabolic relationship with LC20, peaking around 614 µm, i.e. approximately on February 1st, and was positively associated with weight, liver energy and, presently, age. In summary, NEAC females that start vitellogenesis will likely spawn. Atresia and fecundity down-regulation appears only to become pronounced close to spawning. Finally, the size-dependent spawning time, which appears to have emerged in the stock recently, may alter the link between population demography and recruitment. KEY WORDS: Gadus morhua · Fecundity regulation · Atresia · Liver energy · Size-dependent spawning time Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Skjæraasen JE, Nash RDM, Kennedy J, Thorsen A, Nilsen T, Kjesbu OS (2010) Liver energy, atresia and oocyte stage influence fecundity regulation in Northeast Arctic cod. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 404:173-183. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08486 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 404. Online publication date: April 08, 2010 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2010 Inter-Research.