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Egg mortality and hatching rate of Baltic cod (Gadus morhua) in different salinities

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Abstract

Egg mortality of Baltic cod (Gadus morhua L.), collected off northern Gotland, Sweden, in 1990, was studied in four different salinities — 10 and 15 ppt (salinity of the principal spawning areas of Baltic cod) and 5 and 7 ppt (salinity above the halocline) — in laboratory experiments. Mortality was high during the first 4 d of development, but after gastrulation mortality was low in all salinities tested, except for 5 ppt, in which mortality increased slightly before hatching. Mortality during hatching varied considerably with salinity. No hatching occurred in 5 ppt salinity, and only a few larvae survived in 7 ppt salinity; in contrast, mortality during hatching was comparatively low in salinities of 10 and 15 ppt.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Systems Ecology, Section Gotland, University of Stockholm, S-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden

    A. Nissling & L. Westin

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  1. A. Nissling
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  2. L. Westin
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Communicated by T. Fenchel, Helsingør

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Nissling, A., Westin, L. Egg mortality and hatching rate of Baltic cod (Gadus morhua) in different salinities. Mar. Biol. 111, 29–32 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01986341

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01986341

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