Climate driven response of the Iceland‐East Greenland‐Jan Mayen capelin distribution

Abstract

Climate change is altering the distribution of marine organisms worldwide. This may, in turn, affect the overall structure and functioning of ecosystems, sometimes leading to low productive regimes. Pronounced shifts in distribution and migration have been observed for capelin (Mallotus villosus), one of the ecologically and commercially important species in the Arctic. This study attempts to discern whether a relationship existed between the altered capelin dynamics and the changing physical environmental conditions in the Iceland‐East Greenland‐Jan Mayen region. More specifically, three species distribution models were used to predict hindcasts (pre‐shift years 1993–2002) and nowcasts (post‐shift years 2003–2019) of capelin distribution based on relationships with temperature, salinity, current speed, net primary productivity, and bathymetry. The predicted probability of occurrence over these two time periods demonstrates that the changing environmental conditions have contributed to the modified distribution of the stock during its late feeding season in autumn and during the onset of spawning season in winter. The multi‐model approach used in this study has provided a solid statistical framework to describe the environmental niche of capelin and its potential responses to changing ocean climate.