Sex-specific vertical movements of spawning atlantic cod in coastal habitats inferred from acoustic telemetry.

ABSTRACT: Fish spawning location and behaviour can be challenging to detect, especially in deep water. Here we utilise two large acoustic telemetry datasets from western and mid Norway to study the vertical movement dimension of individual Atlantic cod Gadus morhua spawning behaviour in their natural habitats. The datasets comprise ~ 6 million depth detections from 644 sexed, mature cod, collected at seven different Norwegian coastal cod spawning grounds during 2017-2021. During the spawning period, females were typically found at shallower depths compared to males, while this pattern was much less pronounced or absent outside this period. Furthermore, we identify a hitherto undescribed sex-dependent vertical movement behaviour: periodic descents, where females made deep dives, putatively associated

SUBMITTER: Skjæraasen JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11455899 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature