Morphometric Characters and Feeding Habits in the Early Ontogenesis of Kildin Cod Gadus morhua kildinensis (Gadidae) from Lake Mogilnoe (Kildin Island, Barents Sea)

Abstract

Kildin cod Gadus morhua kildinensis is a subspecies of Atlantic cod with extremely small population size, listed in the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation, which inhabits the waters of a small meromictic lake on the Kildin Island (Barents Sea). Comparative studies of morphobiological characteristics and feeding habits of Kildin cod in the juvenile period were conducted for the first time. Comparison of sample sets of adult Kildin cod and fingerlings on the basis of multivariate analysis of variance demonstrates a high degree of differences in the complex of morphometric characters. The diet of the analyzed sample set of Kildin cod fingerlings consisted of ostracodes (Ostracoda), larvae of polychaetas (Polychaeta), cladocerans (Cladocera), and gammarids (Gammaridae). The special features of changes in the diet of Kildin cod in the early ontogenesis are discussed.