Polar cod and saffron cod are dominant components of the fish community in the Chukchi Sea and are ecologically important forage fishes linking plankton to upper-level consumers. In 2017, we conducted a study as part of the Arctic Integrated Ecosystem Research Program to characterize the distribution, abundance, and growth of polar cod and saffron cod early life history stages (ELHS) in late spring and late summer in the Chukchi Sea. Ship-based plankton tows showed that polar cod and saffron cod larvae were centered in Kotzebue Sound in the late spring. By late summer, polar cod juveniles were most abundant in the offshore areas of the northern Chukchi Sea, whereas saffron cod were distributed nearshore in the southern Chukchi Sea around Cape Lisburne. Empirical fish collections were paired with an individual-based biophysical transport model to examine connectivity and relate changes in seasonal distribution to potential environmental variables. Modeled drift trajectories and growth in spring for polar cod and saffron cod matched well with empirical observations, especially along the northern coastline of Kotzebue Sound, offshore of Point Hope/Cape Lisburne. Given the coherence between modeled and observed distributions, Kotzebue Sound is likely a source of gadid ELHS in the nearshore areas of the Chukchi Sea and offshore of Cape Lisburne/Point Hope, although it is not the likely source of polar cod over Hanna Shoal in the late summer. This is the first study to examine seasonal distribution, abundance, and growth of polar cod and saffron cod in the US Arctic and provides data necessary to evaluate the impacts of climate change on forage fishes in the Arctic.

极地鳕鱼和藏红花鳕鱼是楚科奇海鱼类群落的主要组成部分，是将浮游生物与上层消费者联系起来的重要生态饲料鱼类。2017 年，作为北极综合生态系统研究计划的一部分，我们进行了一项研究，以描述楚科奇海春末和夏末极地鳕鱼和藏红花鳕鱼早期生命史阶段 (ELHS) 的分布、丰度和生长情况。船载浮游生物拖带显示，晚春时极地鳕鱼和藏红花鳕鱼幼虫集中在科策布海峡。到夏末，极地鳕鱼幼鱼在楚科奇海北部的近海地区最为丰富，而藏红花鳕鱼则分布在楚科奇海南部利斯本角附近的近岸海域。经验性鱼类收集与基于个体的生物物理运输模型配对，以检查连通性并将季节性分布的变化与潜在的环境变量联系起来。极地鳕鱼和藏红花鳕鱼在春季的模拟漂移轨迹和生长与经验观察结果非常吻合，尤其是在 Point Hope/Cape Lisburne 近海的 Kotzebue Sound 北部海岸线。鉴于模拟分布和观察到的分布之间的一致性，Kotzebue Sound 可能是楚科奇海近岸区域和利斯本角/Point Hope 近海的 gadid ELHS 的来源，尽管它不是汉娜浅滩上的极地鳕鱼的可能来源夏末。这是第一项研究季节性分布、丰度、