This dataset is from a field experiment that examined how juvenile flatfish distribution changed with worm tube heterogeneity, i.e. density and patchiness.

The importance of high relief structure containing biotic habitat to rockfish and other species remains largely unknown. This data set was created to examine the importance of this habitat for Pacific ocean perch, northern rockfish, and dusky rockfish. These data were derived from four research cruises that occurred between May 2012 and December 2014. During the cruises, video data was recorded of habitat associations, plankton samples were collected, temperature profiles were recorded, and several types of biological samples were taken from trawl captured rockfish. These data will be recorded in several tables in an access database and video files will also be available.

This dataset is from a study that evaluates whether inter-annual variability in the depth distribution of juvenile northern rock sole on their nursery grounds around Kodiak Island, Alaska, is a response to changes in the availability of habitat created by polychaete tubes, principally Sabellides sibirica.

Juvenile rockfish were observed amongst coral, sponge, cobble, and gravel habitats. Rockfish utilized coral habitats more than any other, while gravel was the least utilized. Sponge and cobble habitat utilization was intermediate to coral and gravel. Predation of young-of-the-year rockfish by sculpin predators was greatest in gravel habitats and lowest in coral habitats.

This dataset is from field surveys that examined depth distribution, habitat association, and growth of newly settled Tanner crab at 4 sites around the eastern end of Kodiak Island, Alaska.

This data set describes the holding temperatures and developmental stages of larvae of red and blue king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus and P. platypus) reared to the first crab stage at the Kodiak Laboratory.

To study the effects of ocean acidification we examined the effects of ocean acidification on the larval stages of the economically important southern Tanner crab, Chionoecetes bairdi. Ovigerous females were reared in one of 3 treatments: control (ambient pH ~8.1), pH 7.8, and pH 7.5 for 2 years. Larvae in year 1 were from oocytes developed in the field whereas larvae in year 2 were from oocytes developed under acidified conditions. Larvae hatched each year, were also exposed to 3 pH treatments to examine starvation-survival, morphology, condition, and calcium/magnesium content. Approximately 300 larvae were stocked in multiple treatments for testing the effect of pH. Hatching success was measured as the total % of larval hatched from a full clutch while duration was the number of days over which hatching occurred. Hatching success did not differ among treatments in 2012 but varied between 46 to 87% in 2013 dependent on pH treatment. Larval mass was highest in pH 7.8 in 2012 and lowest in the control, however in 2013 the highest larval mass was in the control water. There were only small (not significant) changes in magnesium or calcium content among treatments in 2012 however, the reduction in both minerals at higher pH was greater in 2013. There was higher percent carbon and nitrogen contents in pH 7.5 larvae in 2013. The morphology of Tanner crab larval was assessed from 200 larvae stocked in multiple 2 L beakers. There was no effect of treatment on larval morphometrics. In 2012 and 2013, we examined if embryos developed under acidified conditions affected larval morphology by assessing 15 newly hatched larvae from each treatment. There was again no effect of treatment on larval morphometrics. Starvation survival experiments were performed in 1 L sized PVC inserts. In both years larvae from embryos that developed in pH 7.5 water survived about 3 days longer than those that developed in control water. However, in 2012 larvae from embryos that had developed in pH 7.8 water were similar to control larvae whereas in 2013 they were intermediate between the control and pH 7.5 larvae. The overall effects of treatment at the larval stage appeared to be better condition and initial survival at lower pH, however multiple years of treatment led to lower survival.

This dataset is from laboratory experiments that explored anti-predator behavior and intrinsic growth in three co-occurring juvenile flatfish species (English sole Parophrys vetulus, Pacific halibut Hippoglossus stenolepis and northern rock sole Lepidopsetta polyxystra), and field surveys of juveniles of these three species in a nursery embayment at Kodiak Island.

The datasets contain larval size, water temperature, cell cycle data, and classification of larval condition.

Data are currently limited or lacking for several federally managed rockfish species of the genus Sebastes found within the Gulf of Alaska. This project is related to the core mission of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center as it will provide data which will refine and improve assessment models for these commercially important species. The initial data collection from this project began in 2009 and is on-going. Samples of a variety of rockfish species have been collected from several years and in several locations throughout the Gulf of Alaska. These data are stored in database files (MS Excel or MS Access).