Buoyancy and vertical distribution of haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) eggs during embryonic development: A comparison with cod (Gadus morhua)

Vertical egg distributions are needed knowledge for understanding exposure to physical forcing, predation pressure, and modelling initial transport from the spawning areas. Egg density and size are the biotic factors determining vertical distributions while the ambient salinity and turbulent mixing are the physical factors contributing to their vertical distributions. Egg buoyancies and densities of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) have been extensively studied, while limited information on haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) egg density is available. This is the first comprehensive study on haddock egg densities in Norwegian waters. Eggs were collected from pairs of spawning fish caught at the coast of western Norway and inserted into a density gradient column where density was measured. The haddock eggs were neutrally buoyant at salinities ranging from 28.5 to 31. The density changed during egg development, and the results from the measurements were used to model the vertical distribution of the eggs. The simulations showed that the changes in buoyancy substantially affected vertical distributions. A comparison to previously published data on cod eggs showed that haddock eggs are considerably more buoyant than the cod eggs and are—particularly during calm wind conditions—confined to the surface layer to a larger extent than the cod eggs. The more buoyant attribute of the haddock eggs, together with the lipophilic surface of the egg membrane, is suggested to make haddock eggs more vulnerable to buoyant pollutants, like hydrocarbons.