Prepared in cooperation with Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Environmental Studies Program (OCS Study, BOEM 2016-048) Alaska Arctic Marine Fish Ecology Catalog Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5038 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Cover: Photographs of various fish studied for this report. Background photograph shows Arctic icebergs and ice floes. Photograph from iStock™, dated March 23, 2011. Alaska Arctic Marine Fish Ecology Catalog By Lyman K. Thorsteinson and Milton S. Love, editors Prepared in cooperation with Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Environmental Studies Program (OCS Study, BOEM 2016-048) Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5038 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior SALLY JEWELL, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Suzette M. Kimball, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2016 For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment—visit http://www.usgs.gov or call 1–888–ASK–USGS. For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://store.usgs.gov. Disclaimer: This Scientific Investigations Report has been technically reviewed and approved for publication by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The information is provided on the condition that neither the U.S. Geological Survey nor the U.S. Government may be held liable for any damages resulting from the authorized or unauthorized use of this information. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the U.S. Government. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner. Suggested citation: Thorsteinson, L.K., and Love, M.S., eds., 2016, Alaska Arctic marine fish ecology catalog: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5038 (OCS Study, BOEM 2016-048), 768 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ sir20165038. Chapter within report: Love, M.S., Elder, Nancy, Mecklenburg, C.W., Thorsteinson, L.K., and Mecklenburg, T.A., 2016, Alaska Arctic marine fish species accounts, in Thorsteinson, L.K., and Love, M.S., eds., Alaska Arctic marine fish ecology catalog: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5038 (OCS Study, BOEM 2016-048) p. 41–48, http://dx.doi. org/10.3133/sir20165038. ISSN 2328-0328 (online) iii Acknowledgments This study was supported by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Environmental Studies Program, Alaska OCS Region, through Interagency Agreement Number M09PG00005 with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). We appreciate the program planning advice and project reviews by fishery specialists in the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and all expert technical reviews provided during the USGS-managed peer review process. We extend special appeciation to the USGS Tacoma Publishing Service Center for their editorial, production, and publication assistance. iv This page intentionally left blank. v Contents Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................................iii Chapter 1. Alaska Arctic Marine Fish Ecology Catalog—Chukchi and Beaufort Seas By Lyman K. Thorsteinson ......................................................................................................1 Chapter 2. Alaska Arctic Marine Fish Inventory By Lyman K. Thorsteinson ....................................................................................................23 Chapter 3. Alaska Arctic Marine Fish Species Accounts By Milton S. Love, Nancy Elder, Catherine W. Mecklenburg, Lyman K. Thorsteinson, and T. Anthony Mecklenburg ....................................................41 Pacific and Arctic Lampreys .......................................................................................49 Pacific Lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) ....................................................49 Arctic Lamprey (Lethenteron camtschaticum) ...............................................55 Spotted Spiny Dogfish to Bering Cisco .....................................................................60 Spotted Spiny Dogfish (Squalus suckleyi) .......................................................60 Arctic Skate (Amblyraja hyperborea) ...............................................................66 Pacific Herring (Clupea pallasii) ........................................................................70 Pond Smelt (Hypomesus olidus) ........................................................................78 Pacific Capelin (Mallotus catervarius) .............................................................83 Arctic Smelt (Osmerus dentex) ........................................................................91 Arctic Cisco (Coregonus autumnalis) ...............................................................98 Bering Cisco (Coregonus laurettae) ...............................................................107 Broad Whitefish to Dolly Varden ..............................................................................112 Broad Whitefish (Coregonus nasus) .............................................................112 Humpback Whitefish (Coregonus pidschian) ..............................................121 Least Cisco (Coregonus sardinella) ................................................................128 Pink Salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) .....................................................136 Chum Salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) ..............................................................142 Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) ..........................................................148 Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) ......................................................153 Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) ...........................................158 Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma) .....................................................................163 Inconnu and Glacier Lanternfish ..............................................................................172 Inconnu (Stenodus leucichthys) ....................................................................172 Glacier Lanternfish (Benthosema glaciale) ...................................................179 Ice Cod to Pacific Cod ................................................................................................183 Ice Cod (Arctogadus glacialis) .......................................................................183 Arctic Cod (Boreogadus saida) .......................................................................189 Saffron Cod (Eleginus gracilis) .......................................................................201 Walleye Pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) ....................................................209 Pacific Cod (Gadus macrocephalus) .............................................................218 Threespine Stickleback to Antlered Sculpin ..........................................................226 Threespine Stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) .....................................226 Ninespine Stickleback (Pungitius pungitius) ...............................................233 Whitespotted Greenling (Hexagrammos stelleri) ........................................239 Okhotsk Hookear Sculpin (Artediellus ochotensis) ....................................245 vi Contents—Continued Chapter 3. Alaska Arctic Marine Fish Species Accounts—Continued Threespine Stickleback to Antlered Sculpin—Continued Hamecon (Artediellus scaber) ........................................................................249 Antlered Sculpin (Enophrys diceraus) ..........................................................254 Arctic Staghorn Sculpin to Ribbed Sculpin ............................................................259 Arctic Staghorn Sculpin (Gymnocanthus tricuspis) ...................................259 Butterfly Sculpin (Hemilepidotus papilio) ......................................................265 Twohorn Sculpin (Icelus bicornis) ..................................................................270 Spatulate Sculpin (Icelus spatula) .................................................................274 Belligerent Sculpin (Megalocottus platycephalus) .....................................279 Brightbelly Sculpin (Microcottus sellaris) .....................................................283 Plain Sculpin (Myoxocephalus jaok) .............................................................287 Great Sculpin (Myoxocephalus polyacanthocephalus) .............................292 Fourhorn Sculpin (Myoxocephalus quadricornis) .......................................298 Arctic Sculpin (Myoxocephalus scorpioides) ...............................................305 Shorthorn Sculpin (Myoxocephalus scorpius) ............................................310 Hairhead Sculpin (Trichocottus brashnikovi) ...............................................316 Bigeye Sculpin (Triglops nybelini) ..................................................................320 Ribbed Sculpin (Triglops pingelii) ...................................................................324