Capelin Mallotus villosus is a key forage fish in Low Arctic regions, with hotspots forming where fish aggregate to spawn. Dramatic changes in capelin biology coincident with fluctuating ocean climate have led to ambiguous stock status. These changes have had widespread impacts on species interactions within food webs, suggesting that capelin demographics are a robust indicator of climate change. I plan to continue this research program in collaboration with Dr. William A. Montevecchi(Memorial University of Newfoundland), the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (St. John's, NL) and Newfoundland commercial fishers.
The primary goal is to determine the relative contribution of capelin spawned on the beach versus demersally to stock recruitment in the Northwest Atlantic. Research will involve beach, ship, seabird colony (Funk Island) and laboratory components, allowing partitioning into sub-projects to provide an exceptional environment for student involvement (2004-2006: 2 MSc, 1 BSc Honours). The main predators of capelin in the study area are common murres, northern gannets and humpback whales.Funding has been awarded for this part of the research program for 3 yr through the NSERC Strategic Grant program (2003-2006). Vessel-based methods include standardized strip transect methods for counting birds and mammals, hydroacoustics, remote operated vehicle equipped with an underwater video camera, bongo nets, bottom trawl, bottom grab, and temperature and salinity probes. This collaborative research will have a significant impact on the stock assessment techniques of capelin for which there is an urgent need, owing to the reliance of top predators on capelin.
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