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When using acoustic methods to investigate fish biomass, it is important to distinguish the target species from other organisms. Previous limitations to acoustic information in surveys meant it was not possible to discriminate juvenile walleye pollock from their predator, pointhead flounder, in Funka Bay, Japan, possibly leading to overestimates in population size. Thus, here, an acoustic method was developed to distinguish the two species based on relative frequency response. This method was used to survey juvenile walleye pollock to evaluate capture potential around Funka Bay, Japan, where pointhead flounder is reportedly its most abundant predator. Volume backscattering strength of pointhead flounder was highest at 200 kHz, while that of juvenile walleye pollock was highest at 38 kHz. Therefore, the relative frequency response at 38 kHz and 200 kHz was successfully used to distinguish between the two species. This method could be more extensively applied to other species in other aquatic environments globally.

We examined the abundance and horizontal and vertical distributions of epipelagic ctenophores and scyphomedusae in the northern Bering Sea using an underwater video camera during July of 2017 and 2018. The effects of environmental and biological parameters on the distribution of these species were evaluated by generalized additive modelling (GAM). In 2017, the dominant ctenophore, Bolinopsis infundibulum, was mainly distributed in the north and west of St. Lawrence Island (SLI), and their vertical distribution varied with the region but not by the time of day. We found that B. infundibulum was distributed in the upper pycnocline north of SLI, but below the pycnocline west of SLI. Biological interactions with other gelatinous zooplankton may explain these regional differences in vertical distribution; GAM analysis revealed a negative interaction between B. infundibulum and the large scyphomedusa, Chrysaora melanaster, which occurred in the upper layer in the west of SLI. B. infundibulum may avoid that layer to reduce feeding competition. For the ctenophore, Beroe sp., vertical and horizontal distributions were similar to those of B. infundibulum, and GAM analysis also revealed a positive interaction for both species. As B. infundibulum is an important prey of Beroe sp., a prey-predator interaction may result from their similar horizontal and vertical distributions. Standing stocks of epipelagic ctenophores and scyphomedusae in 2018 were low compared to those in 2017, by a factor of 1/20 (C. melanaster) and1/90 (Beroe sp.). This might be due to annual differences in water mass in this region, in that the thermal conditions characterized by a high abundance of the dominant B. infundibulum in 2017 (<2 and >8 degrees C) were absent in 2018. As this drastic decrease in standing stock in 2018 was apparent for both ctenophores and scyphomedusae, food availability was hypothesized to be poor that year.

We examined the abundance and horizontal and vertical distributions of epipelagic ctenophores and scyphomedusae in the northern Bering Sea using an underwater video camera during July of 2017 and 2018. The effects of environmental and biological parameters on the distribution of these species were evaluated by generalized additive modelling (GAM). In 2017, the dominant ctenophore, Bolinopsis infundibulum, was mainly distributed in the north and west of St. Lawrence Island (SLI), and their vertical distribution varied with the region but not by the time of day. We found that B. infundibulum was distributed in the upper pycnocline north of SLI, but below the pycnocline west of SLI. Biological interactions with other gelatinous zooplankton may explain these regional differences in vertical distribution; GAM analysis revealed a negative interaction between B. infundibulum and the large scyphomedusa, Chrysaora melanaster, which occurred in the upper layer in the west of SLI. B. infundibulum may avoid that layer to reduce feeding competition. For the ctenophore, Beroe sp., vertical and horizontal distributions were similar to those of B. infundibulum, and GAM analysis also revealed a positive interaction for both species. As B. infundibulum is an important prey of Beroe sp., a prey-predator interaction may result from their similar horizontal and vertical distributions. Standing stocks of epipelagic ctenophores and scyphomedusae in 2018 were low compared to those in 2017, by a factor of 1/20 (C. melanaster) and1/90 (Beroe sp.). This might be due to annual differences in water mass in this region, in that the thermal conditions characterized by a high abundance of the dominant B. infundibulum in 2017 (<2 and >8 degrees C) were absent in 2018. As this drastic decrease in standing stock in 2018 was apparent for both ctenophores and scyphomedusae, food availability was hypothesized to be poor that year.

To understand trophic responses of polar cod Boreogadus saida (a key species in Arctic food webs) to changes in zooplankton and benthic invertebrate communities (prey), we compared its stomach contents and body condition between three regions with different environments: the northern Bering Sea (NB), southern Chukchi Sea (SC), and central Chukchi Sea (CC). Polar cod were sampled using a bottom trawl, and their potential prey species in the environment were sampled using a plankton net and a surface sediment sampler. Polar cod fed mainly on appendicularians in the NB and SC where copepods were the most abundant in the environment, while they fed on copepods, euphausiids, and gammarids in the CC where barnacle larvae were the most abundant species in plankton samples on average. The stomach fullness index of polar cod was higher in the NB and SC than CC, while their body condition index did not differ between these regions. The lower lipid content of appendicularians compared to other prey species is the most plausible explanation for this inconsistency.

Batch spawning, intermittent spawning and multiple spawning represent common reproductive strategies among cephalopods. These flexible spawning strategies are also common in fishes, and are thought to be a female trait that is programmed depending on environmental parameters. The ommastrephid squid Todarodes pacificus, being a terminal spawner, is considered to have a single spawning event, extruding one large egg mass and dying soon thereafter. Females that are interrupted by males exhibiting mating behavior, while extruding the egg mass, spawn multiple egg masses over the course of 2-3 d instead of dying soon after spawning the first egg mass. We demonstrate that male mating behavior causes 'forced' intermittent spawning by females (i.e. more than one spawning event). We hypothesize that in T. pacificus, some males use this strategy to mate with females unable to repel advances while spawning, thus providing the male with the opportunity to contribute sperm and enhance gene flow.

Vertical position and movement rate were measured in the yolk-sac larvae of the Pacific cod Gadus macrocephalus at different rearing temperatures (3, 5, 7, and 9 A degrees C) and an identical temperature of 5 A degrees C in experimental columns during the initial 3 days post-hatch (dph). Larval specific gravity was also measured through sinking velocities. Yolk-sac larvae swam upward and initially (0 dph) remained in the upper section of the experimental column through intermittent upward swimming, and gradually moved to near-neutral buoyancy at 3 dph at corresponding rearing temperatures. Rearing temperature significantly affected the swimming ability: at 0 dph, vertical movement rates measured at 5 A degrees C were low in the yolk-sac larvae reared at warm temperatures. However, no such difference was observed at 3 dph. The difference in vertical movement rate may have resulted from the temperature-mediated body sizes (standard length) and yolk-sac sizes (yolk-sac volume) at hatching. Specific gravity did not change for the varying temperatures during the initial 3 days, but decreased as ontogeny progressed. Therefore, we suggest that Pacific cod yolk-sac larvae achieve a demersal-pelagic habitat transition through upward swimming and increasing buoyancy.

Complementary DNA clones encoding trypsins were isolated from pyloric ceca of cold-adapted fish, walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) (WP-T) and Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) (AC-T). The isolated full-length cDNA clones of WP-T and AC-T were 852 bp and 860 bp, respectively, and both cDNAs were contained an open reading frame of 726 bp. WP-T and AC-T seemed to be synthesized as preproenzyme that contains a signal peptide, an activation peptide, and a mature trypsin. Although the amino acid sequence identities of WP-T and AC-T to that of bovine trypsin were 64% and 63%, respectively, they completely conserved the structural features for catalytic function of trypsin. On the other hand, WP-T and AC-T possessed the four Met residues (Met135, Met145, Met175 and Met242) in their molecules and the deletion of Tyr151 and substitution of Pro152 for Gly in their autolysis loops when aligned with the sequences of tropical-zone fish and bovine trypsins. In addition, the contents of charged amino acid residues at the N-terminal regions (positions 20-50) of WP-T and AC-T were extremely higher than those of other fish and bovine trypsins. Moreover, one amino acid (Asn72) and two amino acids (Asn72 and Val75) coordinating with Ca2+ in bovine trypsin were exchanged for another amino acids in WP-T (His) and AC-T (His and Glu), respectively, and the contents of negative charged amino acids at their Ca^[2+]-binding regions were lower than those of tropical-zone fish and bovine trypsins. Therefore, it was considered that these structural characteristics of WP-T and AC-T are closely related to their lower thermo stability.