ADVANCES IN POLAR SCIENCE ›› 2012, Vol. 23 ›› Issue (2-English): 116-127.DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1085.2012.00116

• Letters • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Composition and distribution of fish species collected during the fourth Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition in 2010

LIN Longshan1, LIAO Yunchih2, ZHANG Jing3, ZHENG Senlin1, XIANG Peng1, YU Xingguang1, WU Risheng1 & SHAO Kwangtsao2   

  1. 1 Third Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration;
    2 Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica;
    3 Fisheries College of Jimei University
  • Received:2011-09-15 Revised:2012-03-26 Online:1962-06-30 Published:1962-06-30
  • Contact: LIAO Yunchih

Abstract: Awareness and concerns have been caused by the decreasing sea ice coverage around the Arctic and the Antarctic affected by climate change. Emphasize was on the study of the rapid change of Arctic sea ice coverage and its impacts on the marine ecology during the Chinese Arctic Research Expedition in 2010. Our purpose is establishing the base line of Arctic fish composition, and the consequent climate change on fish community and biogeography. Fish specimens were collected by using the multinet middle water trawl, French type beam trawl, otter trawl, and triangular bottom trawl, totally 36 tows were operated along the shelf of Bering Sea, Bering Strait, and Chukchi Sea in the Arctic Ocean. There were 41 fish species belong to 14 families in 8 orders collected during the expedition. Among them, Scorpaeniformes, including 21species, account almost half of the total number (47.1%), the following as 5 species in Pleuronectiformes (22.3%), 2 species in Gadiformes (15.4%), and 9 species in Perciformes (13.8%). The most 6 abundant species were Hippoglossoides robustus, Boregadus saida, Myoxocephalus scorpius, Lumpenus fabricii, Artediellus scaber, and Gymnocanthus tricuspis. Abundant species varies by methods, the number of family and species recorded were not different by methods, species and abundance decreased with depth and latitude, and species extend their known geographic range were evident during the expedition. Station information, species list, and color photograph for all fishes were provided here.

Key words: Arctic, fish, geographic range, Bering Sea, Bering Strait, Chukchi Sea, climate change