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ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil Advance Access originally published online on March 30, 2007
ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil 2007 64(5):920-928; doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsm028
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© 2007 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Published by Oxford Journals. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Home range and elevated egg densities within an inshore spawning ground of coastal cod

Sigurd Heiberg Espeland1, Ailin Fernløf Gundersen2, Esben Moland Olsen1, Halvor Knutsen2, Jakob Gjøsæter2 and Nils C. Stenseth1,2,

1 Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biology, University of Oslo, PO Box 1066 Blindern, N-0316 Oslo, Norway
2 Institute of Marine Research, Flødevigen 4817 His, Norway

Correspondence to N. C. Stenseth: tel: +47 22 85 45 84; fax: +47 22 85 40 01; e-mail: n.c.stenseth{at}bio.uio.no

Espeland, S. H., Gundersen, A. F., Olsen, E. M., Knutsen, H., Gjøsæter, J., and Stenseth, N. C. 2007. Home range and elevated egg densities within an inshore spawning ground of coastal cod. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 64: 920–928.

Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) along the Norwegian Skagerrak coast are structured into genetically distinct local populations. Mechanisms contributing to this genetic structure may include spawning site fidelity of adult cod as well as retention of pelagic early life stages close to the spawning grounds. Spawning in sheltered inshore localities is likely to favour retention of eggs and larvae, the opposite situation to offshore spawning. A combined study was made of area utilization by adult cod and the distribution of cod eggs within an inshore locality of the Norwegian Skagerrak coast. The behaviour of adult cod was studied using acoustic telemetry and kernel modelling, and eggs were sampled throughout the spawning season. Generalized additive models were applied to test hypotheses about the spatial dynamics of the eggs, and the best model described a central spawning area that retained its integrity through time. Adult cod were confined to small parts of the study area and remained there throughout the spawning season. The average home range of the adult cod was 27 ha. Overall, the study demonstrated two mechanisms by which coastal (i.e. inshore) cod maintain their population structure: spawning site fidelity and the spatial dynamics of their eggs.

Keywords: Atlantic cod, egg retention, Gadus morhua, home range, local populations, spawning, stock structure

Received 17 July 2006; accepted 10 February 2007; advance access publication 30 March 2007.


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