Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) is the most abundant forage fish species in Arctic seas and plays a pivotal role in the transfer of energy between zooplankton and top predators. Arctic cod's dominance, together with the Arctic's relatively low biodiversity, interact such that changing population dynamics of Arctic cod have cascading effects on whole Arctic marine ecosystems. Over the last decades, warming in the Arctic has led to a decline in Arctic cod populations in the Barents Sea, but in the Canadian Arctic these conditions have been correlated with up to a ten-fold higher biomass of age-0 Arctic cod at the end of summer. However, it is unknown whether this enhanced larval survival with warmer waters endures through age-1+ populations. A better understanding of spatial variation in the responses of Arctic cod populations to environmental conditions is critical to forecast future changes in Arctic ecosystems. Here, we rely on a 17-year time series of acoustic-trawl surveys (2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017)(2018)(2019) to test whether ice breakup date, sea surface temperature, zooplankton density, and Arctic climate indices during early life stages affect the subsequent recruitment of age-1+ Arctic cod in the Beaufort Sea and Baffin Bay. In the Beaufort Sea, the biomass of age-1+ Arctic cod was correlated with the previous year's Arctic Oscillation indices and age-0 biomass. In Baffin Bay, the biomass of age-1+ Arctic cod was correlated with the previous year's North Atlantic Oscillation indices and the timing of ice breakup.
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