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Feeding ecology of a common benthic fish, shorthorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus scorpius) in the high arctic

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Abstract

Shorthorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus scorpius) commonly occur in nearshore areas during open water periods in the Arctic, yet little is known about their feeding strategies or trophic roles. This study used carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotopes (SIs) and stomach content analysis (SCA) to assess shorthorn sculpin trophic position (TP), carbon sources, dietary specialization and prey selection, and the significance of polar cod (Boreogadus saida) in their diet across body size and multiple years. Sculpin TP increased with body size [range = 4.0 ± 0.1 (< 20 cm) to 4.6 ± 0.2 (> 25 cm)] and was consistent with SCA; smaller individuals fed predominantly on invertebrates while larger fed more on fishes. Shorthorn sculpin had high % reliance on pelagic resources (α) for a benthic fish, from 0.62 ± 0.05 to 0.63 ± 0.06, thus coupling benthic and pelagic sources. Dietary specialization based on SIs in liver and muscle occurred in all size groups, and along with TP and niche width varied between years, generally increasing with fish found in SCA. The presence of polar cod, absent two of the four study years, did not significantly affect any dietary metrics measured in shorthorn sculpin, and cannibalism appears to have had a greater impact on shorthorn sculpin trophic ecology. This study demonstrates that shorthorn sculpin are an important secondary to tertiary consumer in nearshore Arctic marine habitats due to coupling multiple trophic pathways, demonstrating plasticity in diet between years, and exploiting an array of prey across size ranges.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank The Community of Resolute Bay for assisting in field work, and the sharing of local expertise, the Polar Continental Shelf Research Project for supplying equipment and logistics in the field, the Northern Studies Training Program for travel support to JJL. Funding for this project was provided by the Ocean Tracking Network from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Natural Sciences and Engineering and Research Council of Canada.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, N9B 3P4, Canada

    Justin J. Landry, Aaron T. Fisk, David J. Yurkowski, Nigel E. Hussey & Steven T. Kessel

  2. Department of Biological Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, N3T 2N2, Canada

    Terry Dick

  3. East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, 27858, USA

    Richard E. Crawford

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  1. Justin J. Landry
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  2. Aaron T. Fisk
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  3. David J. Yurkowski
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  4. Nigel E. Hussey
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  5. Terry Dick
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  6. Richard E. Crawford
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  7. Steven T. Kessel
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Correspondence to Aaron T. Fisk.

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None of the authors of this paper had any conflicts of interest (financial or non-financial).

Ethical Approval

This project was approved by the University of Windsor Animal Care Committee (Project Number AUPP 12-13), a member of the Canadian Council on Animal Care.

Additional information

The original version of this article has been revised to reflect the correct spelling for reference: Dick T, Chambers C, Gallagher CP 2009. The original article has been corrected.

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Landry, J.J., Fisk, A.T., Yurkowski, D.J. et al. Feeding ecology of a common benthic fish, shorthorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus scorpius) in the high arctic. Polar Biol 41, 2091–2102 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-018-2348-8

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