• Login
    View Item 
    •   Home
    • University of Alaska Fairbanks
    • UAF Graduate School
    • School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences
    • View Item
    •   Home
    • University of Alaska Fairbanks
    • UAF Graduate School
    • School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

    All of Scholarworks@UACommunitiesPublication DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsTypeThis CollectionPublication DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsType

    My Account

    Login

    First Time Submitters, Register Here

    Register

    Statistics

    Display statistics

    Trophic dynamics and stock characteristics of snow crabs, Chionoecetes opilio, in the Alaskan Arctic

    • CSV
    • RefMan
    • EndNote
    • BibTex
    • RefWorks
    Thumbnail
    Name:
    Divine_uaf_0006E_10537.pdf
    Size:
    8.089Mb
    Format:
    PDF
    Download
    Author
    Divine, Lauren Mallory
    Chair
    Iken, Katrin
    Committee
    Bluhm, Bodil A.
    Lovvorn, James R.
    Kruse, Gordon H.
    Mueter, Franz J.
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/11122/6810
    Abstract
    Arctic waters off the coast of Alaska have become increasingly open to human activities via dramatic climatic changes, such as reduced sea ice thickness and extent, warming ocean temperatures, and increased freshwater input. This research advances knowledge of snow crab trophic dynamics and stock characteristics in Arctic waters off the Alaska coast. Here, I provided baseline information regarding snow crab position in Beaufort Sea benthic food webs, its specific dietary habits in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, and expanded upon previously limited life-history and population dynamic data in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. I first detailed benthic food webs on the Alaskan Beaufort Sea shelf and snow crab trophic positions within these food webs using stable δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N isotope analysis. Water column and sediment particulate organic matter (POM) were used as primary food web end members. Isotopic niche space (δ¹³C – δ¹⁵N) occupied by benthic taxa provided measures of community-wide trophic redundancy and separation. Water column and sediment POM δ¹³C values generally reflected terrestrial POM inputs in the eastern and central shallow (14-90 m) Beaufort regions, but were indicative of persistent marine influence in the western and central deep (100-220 m) regions. Food web structure, as reflected by consumer trophic levels (TLs), trophic redundancy, and trophic niche space, supported the POM findings. In the eastern and central shallow regions, consumers occupied mainly lower TL (TL= 1-3), whereas consumers in the western regions occupied intermediate and higher TL (TL= 3-4). Overall trophic redundancy and niche space occupied by food webs in these four regions, however, was similar. The central deep Beaufort food web was unique in all metrics evaluated, and the comparatively largest isotopic niche space, with high trophic niche separation but low trophic redundancy, suggests that this region may be most vulnerable to perturbations. Snow crabs occupied food webs in the central deep and western shallow and deep Beaufort regions, where they maintained a consistent TL of 4.0 across regions. I then investigated snow crab dietary habits across the Chukchi, and the Alaskan and Canadian Beaufort seas in the size range of 40 to 130 mm CW using stomach contents and stable isotope analyses. Snow crabs consumed four main prey taxa: polychaetes, decapod crustaceans (crabs, amphipods), echinoderms (mainly ophiuroids), and mollusks (bivalves, gastropods). Crab diets in the southern and northern Chukchi Sea regions were similar to those in the western Beaufort Sea in that bivalve, amphipod, and crustacean consumption was highest. The Canadian Beaufort region was most unique in prey composition and in stable isotope values. Cannibalism on snow crabs was higher in the Chukchi Sea regions relative to the Beaufort Sea regions, suggesting that cannibalism may have an impact on recruitment in the Chukchi Sea via reduction of cohort strength after settlement to the benthos, as known from the Canadian Atlantic. Based on a comparison with southern Chukchi Sea macrofauna data, these results document the non-selective, omnivorous role of snow crabs across the entire Pacific Arctic, as well as providing first evidence for cannibalism in the Chukchi Sea. Finally, I generated new estimates of stock biomass, abundance, and maximum sustainable yield, length-weight relationships, size-at-maturity, and fecundity of snow crab in the Alaskan Arctic. Although snow crabs were more abundant in the Chukchi Sea, no crabs larger than the minimum marketable size (> 100 mm carapace width, based on Bering Sea metric) occurred in this region. Harvestable biomass of snow crabs only occurred in the Beaufort Sea, but was considerably lower than previous estimates in the Arctic FMP. Length-weight relationships were generally similar for male and female snow crabs between the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. Size-at-maturity and female fecundity in the Chukchi Sea were similar to snow crabs occurring in other geographic regions; low sample sizes in the Beaufort prevented size-at-maturity and fecundity analysis. Together these results contribute new understanding of Arctic snow crab population dynamics by utilizing a rich dataset obtained recently from the Chukchi and Beaufort regions.
    Description
    Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2016
    Table of Contents
    CHAPTER 1. Regional benthic food web structure on the Alaska Beaufort Sea shelf -- CHAPTER 2. Diet analysis of Alaskan Arctic snow crabs (Chionoecetes opilio) using stomach contents and δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N stable isotopes -- CHAPTER 3. New estimates of biomass, abundance, maximum sustainable yield, length-weight relationships, size-at-maturity, and fecundity of snow crab, Chionoecetes opilio, in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska -- Conclusions.
    Date
    2016-08
    Type
    Thesis
    Collections
    School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences
    Theses (Marine Science and Limnology)

    entitlement

     
    ABOUT US|HELP|BROWSE|ADVANCED SEARCH

    The University of Alaska Fairbanks is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and educational institution and is a part of the University of Alaska system.

    ©UAF 2013 - 2021 | Questions? ua-scholarworks@alaska.edu | Last modified: September 25, 2019

    Open Repository is a service operated by 
    Atmire NV
     

    Export search results

    The export option will allow you to export the current search results of the entered query to a file. Different formats are available for download. To export the items, click on the button corresponding with the preferred download format.

    By default, clicking on the export buttons will result in a download of the allowed maximum amount of items.

    To select a subset of the search results, click "Selective Export" button and make a selection of the items you want to export. The amount of items that can be exported at once is similarly restricted as the full export.

    After making a selection, click one of the export format buttons. The amount of items that will be exported is indicated in the bubble next to export format.