Identification of vertical and horizontal movement patterns in cod behavior

The Atlantic cod is one of the most important commercial species known. The behavior of this species, important for fisheries, research and stock assessment, is in many ways masked by extensive horizontal and vertical dispersion in its habitat. The potential of using the Theme software in behavior studies of commercial fish stocks was tested using data from tagging experiments with adult cod in Icelandic waters. The time series were prepared for T-pattern analysis, including detection and delimitation of tidal influence in the data and event basing raw data according to predefined events. A high number of temporal patterns were detected, patterns of repeated vertical movements and speed and acceleration changes. A number of specific temporal patterns were also identified within and across vertical movements of individual cod. Future objective is to explore these patterns in relation to environmental factors and horizontal location.