title: Environmental toxicology: population modeling of cod larvae shows high sensitivity to loss of zooplankton prey.
abstract: Two factors determine whether pollution is likely to affect a population indirectly through loss of prey: firstly, the sensitivity of the prey to the pollutants, and secondly, the sensitivity of the predator population to loss of prey at the given life stage. We here apply a statistical recruitment model for Northeast Arctic cod to evaluate the sensitivity of cod cohorts to loss of zooplankton prey, for example following an oil spill. The calculations show that cod cohorts are highly sensitive to possible zooplankton biomass reductions in the distribution area of the cod larvae, and point to a need for more knowledge about oil-effects on zooplankton. Our study illustrates how knowledge about population dynamics may guide which indirect effects to consider in environmental impact studies.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biology, University of Oslo, Blindern, Oslo, Norway. l.c.stige@bio.uio.no
authors.forename: Leif Christian
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Stige
authors.forename: Geir
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ottersen
authors.forename: Dag Ø
authors.initials: DØ
authors.lastname: Hjermann
authors.forename: Padmini
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dalpadado
authors.forename: Louise K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Jensen
authors.forename: Nils Chr
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Stenseth
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D055884:Chemical Hazard Release; D017753:Ecosystem; D020387:Food Chain; D048389:Gadus morhua / Q000254:growth & development*; D007814:Larva / Q000254:growth & development; D008954:Models, Biological; D010578:Petroleum / Q000633:toxicity; D011157:Population Dynamics; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity; D015048:Zooplankton / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*
chemical_list: D010578:Petroleum; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical