Zooplankton link climate to capelin and polar cod in the Barents Sea

Capelin (Mallotus villosus) and polar cod (Boreogadus saida) hold a fundamental position in the Barents Sea ecosystem as consumers of zooplankton while serving as forage fish for the commercial and ecological key species Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). The ongoing warming and Atlantification of the Barents Sea, along with increasing net primary production, makes previously inaccessible northern areas available as feeding grounds for capelin. The opposite effect is anticipated for the ice-dependent polar cod. The transport of Atlantic water with boreal plankton from the Norwegian Sea is important for sustaining biodiversity and production in the Barents Sea. A decline of the medium-sized mesozooplankton biomass to a low level during 2016 to 2022 coincided with a strongly decreasing summer volume transport with the Atlantic Current. The low biomass of medium-sized zooplankton observed in later years raises concern about the feeding conditions now experienced by the higher trophic levels.

Both capelin and polar cod feed predominantly on lipid rich sub-Arctic and Arctic zooplankton species. We found a significant inverse relationship between capelin and mesozooplankton biomass and a clear dietary shift from smaller to larger predator size. Smaller capelin (<12 cm) contained a comparatively higher proportion of copepods, dominated by Calanus glacialis, followed by C. finmarchicus and Metridia longa (copepodite stages IV-VI). As the capelin grow, their diet switches towards larger zooplankton, primarily euphausiids (mainly Thysanoessa inermis). All age groups of polar cod fed heavily on pelagic amphipods (mostly Themisto libellula) in addition to copepods and euphausiids, and to some degree also on fish, thus displaying a higher trophic position than capelin. Capelin growth from age 1 to 2 was negatively associated with their abundance at age 2, but positively related to stomach fullness for 2-year-old fish, indicating density-dependent growth. While our study reveals interactions between capelin and zooplankton, such signals between polar cod and their prey were not evident.