Selecting for three copepods—feeding of sprat and herring in the Baltic Sea. (2nd February 2018)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- Selecting for three copepods—feeding of sprat and herring in the Baltic Sea. (2nd February 2018)
- Main Title:
- Selecting for three copepods—feeding of sprat and herring in the Baltic Sea
- Authors:
- Ojaveer, Henn
Lankov, Ain
Raid, Tiit
Põllumäe, Arno
Klais, Riina - Editors:
- Juanes, Francis
- Abstract:
- Abstract: Predator–prey interactions are a primary structuring force in marine foodwebs and they play an important role in the dynamics of both marine fish populations and their prey. We investigated the individual and spatial patterns in the feeding of two dominant zooplanktivorous clupeids—herring Clupea harengus membras and sprat Sprattus sprattus —in the Baltic Sea in summer, by means of a taxonomic analysis of stomach content. Both species consumed predominantly the small-sized copepods ( Temora longicornis, Eurytemora affinis, and Acartia spp.). E. affinis and T. longicornis were generally positively selected by both species. Centropages hamatus was selected only by sprat. With the exception of Pleopis / Podon spp. in the case of small sprat, the remaining prey, i.e. the zooplankton taxa that were found in fish stomachs, were consumed at similar proportions as they occurred in zooplankton. Stomach fullness of fish increased with the increasing proportions of prey in the zooplankton community. The share of empty stomachs was lower for sprat, and among smaller fish in both species. Pairwise dietary overlap between fish decreased when zooplankton diversity increased. Dietary overlap was also lowest among the individuals of sprat, probably due to the wider diet spectrum and diversity of stomach content compared to herring. Our results point to high interspecific competition, where sprat seems to be more successful than herring in finding and consuming prey, and thereforeAbstract: Predator–prey interactions are a primary structuring force in marine foodwebs and they play an important role in the dynamics of both marine fish populations and their prey. We investigated the individual and spatial patterns in the feeding of two dominant zooplanktivorous clupeids—herring Clupea harengus membras and sprat Sprattus sprattus —in the Baltic Sea in summer, by means of a taxonomic analysis of stomach content. Both species consumed predominantly the small-sized copepods ( Temora longicornis, Eurytemora affinis, and Acartia spp.). E. affinis and T. longicornis were generally positively selected by both species. Centropages hamatus was selected only by sprat. With the exception of Pleopis / Podon spp. in the case of small sprat, the remaining prey, i.e. the zooplankton taxa that were found in fish stomachs, were consumed at similar proportions as they occurred in zooplankton. Stomach fullness of fish increased with the increasing proportions of prey in the zooplankton community. The share of empty stomachs was lower for sprat, and among smaller fish in both species. Pairwise dietary overlap between fish decreased when zooplankton diversity increased. Dietary overlap was also lowest among the individuals of sprat, probably due to the wider diet spectrum and diversity of stomach content compared to herring. Our results point to high interspecific competition, where sprat seems to be more successful than herring in finding and consuming prey, and therefore may have an advantage over herring when the zooplankton community is dominated by small-sized taxa. … (more)
- Is Part Of:
- ICES journal of marine science. Volume 75:Number 7(2018)
- Journal:
- ICES journal of marine science
- Issue:
- Volume 75:Number 7(2018)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 75, Issue 7 (2018)
- Year:
- 2018
- Volume:
- 75
- Issue:
- 7
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2018-0075-0007-0000
- Page Start:
- 2439
- Page End:
- 2449
- Publication Date:
- 2018-02-02
- Subjects:
- dietary overlap -- electivity -- feeding activity -- field survey -- prey dynamics -- small pelagic fish stomach content
Ocean -- Periodicals
Fisheries -- Periodicals
Fishes -- Periodicals
Marine biology -- Bibliography -- Periodicals
551.4605 - Journal URLs:
- http://icesjms.oxfordjournals.org/ ↗
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/10543139 ↗
http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/ ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1093/icesjms/fsx249 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 1054-3139
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - 4361.491000
British Library DSC - BLDSS-3PM
British Library HMNTS - ELD Digital store - Ingest File:
- 17086.xml