DOI: 10.24431/rw1k472
title: Growth and dispersal of early life history stages of Arctic cod and saffron cod under variable climate forcing in the Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea, 2012-2013

description: In this study, we developed a biophysical transport model to simulate the dispersal of early life history stages of the two most abundant fish species, Arctic cod (Boregadus saida) and saffron cod (Eleginus gracilis), in the Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea. These species form a crucial link from lower trophic levels to seabirds, marine mammals, and humans and have been recognized as potential target species for new fisheries in the Arctic. We combined observations of late larval and early juvenile stages of both species during the summer of 2012 and 2013 with laboratory-derived estimates of their temperature-dependent growth to parameterize an individual particle tracking model (TRACMASS) that includes growth and vertical movement. The model was linked to a recently developed pan-arctic ocean circulation model (PAROMS) to test hypotheses about the origin and fate of young-of-the-year Arctic and saffron cod. This project addressed research priorities identified in the Arctic Fisheries Management Plan, enhanced required descriptions of Essential Fish Habitat for two key prey species, and provided benchmarks against which to assess future changes to the Arctic marine ecosystem that may result from new development in the Arctic and from anthropogenic climate change. The PAROMS model was developed using the following data sets: three-hourly winds and other atmospheric variables from NASA's MERRA reanalysis, and boundary conditions from global ocean reanalyses (SODA and HYCOM, depending on year). Data are presented as thirteen CSV files: Arctic_EIS_AT_survey_Arctic_cod_by_length_alongtrack_fish_per_m_squared_2013_ArcticEIS_65_75mm_cumulative.csv Arctic_EIS_AT_survey_Arctic_cod_by_length_alongtrack_fish_per_m_squared_2013_ArcticEIS_55_65mm_cumulative.csv Arctic_EIS_AT_survey_Arctic_cod_by_length_alongtrack_fish_per_m_squared_2013_ArcticEIS_45_55mm_cumulative.csv Arctic_EIS_AT_survey_Arctic_cod_by_length_alongtrack_fish_per_m_squared_2013_ArcticEIS_35_45mm_cumulative.csv Arctic_EIS_AT_survey_Arctic_cod_by_length_alongtrack_fish_per_m_squared_2013_ArcticEIS_25_35mm_cumulative.csv Arctic_EIS_AT_survey_Arctic_cod_by_length_alongtrack_fish_per_m_squared_2012_ArcticEIS_65_75mm_cumulative.csv Arctic_EIS_AT_survey_Arctic_cod_by_length_alongtrack_fish_per_m_squared_2013_ArcticEIS_15_25mm_cumulative.csv Arctic_EIS_AT_survey_Arctic_cod_by_length_alongtrack_fish_per_m_squared_2012_ArcticEIS_45_55mm_cumulative.csv Arctic_EIS_AT_survey_Arctic_cod_by_length_alongtrack_fish_per_m_squared_2012_ArcticEIS_35_45mm_cumulative.csv Arctic_EIS_AT_survey_Arctic_cod_by_length_alongtrack_fish_per_m_squared_2012_ArcticEIS_25_35mm_cumulative.csv AC_cpue_lengths_AFSC_RUSALCA_temp_sal_ice_land_Final.csv AC_CPUE_AFSC_RUSALCA_temp_sal_land_ice_FINAL.csv ArcGIS Shapefiles: RUS_adm_shp folder includes 21 shapefiles USA_adm_shp folder includes 28 shapefiles PAROM_GridPoints folder has a total of 91 files: includes shapefiles, text files, database files and xml files Release Ellipses folder includes 104 shapefiles