A comparison of absorption and assimilation efficiencies between four species of shallow- and deep-living fishes

We captured two species of deep-sea zoarcids, Melanostigma pammelas and Lycodapus mandibularis, from Monterey Bay California and maintained them in the laboratory. One shallow-water zoarcid, Eucryphycus californicus, and an ecologically and morphologically similar stichaeid fish Xiphister atropurpureus were collected from intertidal and subtidal habitats in Monterey Bay. We investigated the absorption and assimilation efficiencies of these fishes to determine whether deep-sea species have evolved mechanisms to increase their efficiency of food use. Fishes were placed in experimental chambers and fed a known quantity of food. Ammonia excretion was measured and feces were collected daily. Both food and feces were analyzed for water, protein, lipid and ash to determine specific absorption efficiencies. Absorption ranged from 87.7 to 92.4% and assimilation efficiencies from 84.0 to 86.5%. Meal sizes from 0.5 to 4.0% of body weight did not affect the results. No significant differences were found between deep-sea and shallow-water species fed single meals or fed ad libitum for 10 days. This suggests that the selective pressure to maximize absorption and assimilation is universal and is not affected by the productivity of the habitat occupied. However, the relative size of the intestine in the deep-sea species was significantly smaller suggesting that they had a lower metabolic cost to maintain their digestive apparatus. It could not be concluded whether this was the result of pressure to conserve energy or rather the tendency of the shallow-living species to ingest more refractory material (i.e. sediment, algae).     

饵料加标研究二甲苯麝香在鱼体内的蓄积和清除能力

二甲苯麝香(musk xylene,MX)是一种人造麝香,具有强烈的麝香气,可用作化妆品香精和皂用香精等的定香剂。由于其持续不断地输入环境,它们在水、土壤、大气中的浓度逐渐升高,并且在动物和人体组织中产生了蓄积,其蓄积效应相当于有机氯农药(organochlorine pesticides,OCPs)等持久性有机污染物,因而研究MX在鱼体内的蓄积特征是十分必要的。本文用含浓度为50 mg·kg-1和100 mg·kg-1的MX的饵料投喂斑马鱼(Danio rerio)和稀有鮈鲫(Gobiocypris rarus)14 d,继而进入为期28 d的清除实验。通过快速溶剂萃取(accelerated solvent extraction,ASE)、凝胶渗透色谱(gel permeation chromatography,GPC)、气相色谱-质谱联用法(gas chromatography-mass spectrometry,GC-MS)测定斑马鱼和稀有鮈鲫体内MX的浓度,继而评估鱼对MX的清除能力。结果表明,饵料中MX浓度越高,鱼体内MX的蓄积水平越高,100 mg·kg-1浓度组的蓄积水平为50 mg·kg-1浓度组的蓄积水平的2~3倍。在整个试验阶段的不同时间点分析鱼的体重和脂肪与鱼体内MX浓度的关系,数据显示,MX在鱼体内的蓄积水平与鱼的体重存在正线性关系,而与鱼体内脂肪含量的关系还有待进一步研究。经28 d的清除,鱼体内的MX残留量接近于零,说明斑马鱼和稀有鮈鲫对MX的清除能力较强。     

Intake,digestion, absorption and conversion of food in the fishes Megalops cyprinoides and Ophiocephalus striatus

Different criteria for the assessment of conversion efficiencies of fishes are briefly reviewed, and some important terms defined. In the eurysaline fishes Megalops cyprinoides and Ophiocephalus striatus, transformation of food has been studied as a function of body weight, using both protein and energy transfer criteria. The duration of the 28 experiments conducted varied from 15 to 30 days. Rates of food intake, digestion, absorption and conversion decrease with increasing body weight. Absorption efficiencies are about 97% for the protein fraction, and 91% for the total food consumed; they do not vary appreciably among the individuals of different body weights. Conversion efficiencies of the protein fraction and the total food consumed decrease from about 40% in 2 g individuals to about 15% in 150 g ones. In general, the relations show curvilinear trends, but in weight groups between 10 and 150 g, straight lines are obtained. The slopes of these lines differ in the two species tested. Such differences are related to the physiological state of the fishes and their growth potential. The inverse relation between body weight on the one hand, and food intake, absorption and conversion on the other, are attributed to aging. It is suggested that age affects these intermediate steps via the enzyme-complex of the digestive system. The b values obtained for the relation between body weight on the one hand, and metabolism, food intake and absorption on the other, do not correspond to the surface or weight proportion rule, but to an intermediary type of neither surface nor weight proportionality. As the values obtained are similar, it is concluded that there exists a direct and proportionate relation between metabolism, food intake and absorption. The respective values for the relation between body weight and conversion rate are low indicating that there is a direct, but nonproportionate relation between growth and metabolism.Dedicated to Professor C. P. Gnanamuthu, Madras, on his 66^th birthday, April 29, 1967.     

Growth,food utilization and effect of social interaction in the European bass Dicentrarchus labrax

Fingerling and juvenile bass, Dicentrarchus labrax (L.) fed on filleted saithe, Gadus virens, exhibited much higher K ₁ energy and nitrogen utilization efficiencies (growth as % energy or nitrogen intake) than those fed on trout pellets or shore crabs, Carcinus maenas, although the efficiency declined during prolonged feeding. Mean organic absorption efficiency for saithe was 99.5% and was independent of food intake but the efficiency for pellets and crab declined with increasing food intake from 99 to 92%. For each diet the regression of relative growth rate on food intake was linear up to the regression of relative growth rate on food intake was linear up to the highest feeding level and independent of body weight, enabling construction of a simple model for food transformation. The regression coefficient (equivalent to K ₃, the ratio of growth to food consumed in excess of maintenance) for saithe was about 3 times that for pellets in terms of energy and twice that for pellets in terms of nitrogen. The more efficient utilization of saithe for growth and of pellets for maintenance were related to differences in their nutritional value. With each diet, K ₃ and maximum K ₁ for energy were about twice those for nitrogen. Social interaction had a significant effect on food utilization in juvenile bass. Isolated fish showed poor growth and mean K ₁ efficiency in comparison with bass in pairs or groups. K ₃ efficiency and mainternance requirement were similar in individuals and groups, but were significantly greater in pairs. These results are related to behavioural observeations and environmental stress, and the limitations of extrapolating the results of laboratory feeding experiments on fish to other situations is discussed.     

Anguilliform fishes and sea kraits: neglected predators in coral-reef ecosystems

Despite intensive sampling efforts in coral reefs, densities and species richness of anguilliform fishes (eels) are difficult to quantify because these fishes evade classical sampling methods such as underwater visual census and rotenone poisoning. An alternative method revealed that in New Caledonia, eels are far more abundant and diverse than previously suspected. We analysed the stomach contents of two species of sea snakes that feed on eels (Laticauda laticaudata and L. saintgironsi). This technique is feasible because the snakes return to land to digest their prey, and (since they swallow their prey whole) undigested food items are identifiable. The snakes’ diet consisted almost entirely (99.6%) of eels and included 14 species previously unrecorded from the area. Very large populations of snakes occur in the study area (e.g. at least 1,500 individuals on a small coral islet). The snakes capture approximately 36,000 eels (972 kg) per year, suggesting that eels and snakes play key roles in the functioning of this reef ecosystem.     

Gut characteristics and assimilation efficiencies in two species of herbivorous damselfishes (Pomacentridae: Stegastes dorsopunicans and S. planifrons)

The morphological and physiological mechanisms by which marine herbivores assimilate energy and nutrients from primary producers and transfer them to higher trophic levels of reef ecosystems are poorly understood. Two wide-ranging Caribbean fishes, the dusky damselfish, Stegastes dorsopunicans, and the threespot damselfish, S. planifrons, defend territories on patch reefs in the Archipelago de San Blas, Republic of Panama. We examined how relative intestine length and retention time influence digestion and absorption of energy and nutrients in these fishes. The dusky damselfish has a relative intestine length (RIL=intestine length/standard length) of 1.2 and a Zihler index {ZI=intestine length (mm)/10[mass(g)^1/3]} of 3.4. These values are significantly lower (P_RIL=P_ZI<0.0001) than those for the threespot damselfish (3.0 and 8.2, respectively). Both RIL and ZI for both species fall well below previously published values for other herbivorous pomacentrids, and may reflect their primary food resource at San Blas (diatoms). Energy-rich diatoms may be easier to digest than refractory macroalgae characteristic of diets of many herbivorous fishes (RIL range: 2-20). Despite differences in RIL and ZI between these two species, gut retention time is the same (P>0.05) for both dusky (6.6 h) and threespot damselfish (6.5 h). Thus, food travels the length of the threespot damselfish intestine ~2.5 times faster than it does in the dusky damselfish intestine. Levels of protein, carbohydrate, and lipid are significantly (0.003<P<0.030) higher in the feces of dusky damselfish than in the feces of threespot damselfish, when both species were fed a natural diet of benthic diatoms collected from damselfish territories. This indicates threespot damselfish have a greater nutrient-specific and total assimilation efficiency than do dusky damselfish. Furthermore, when fed an artificial pellet diet, protein absorption efficiency differed significantly (P=0.014) between species; threespot damselfish absorbed 98.3% of dietary protein, whereas dusky damselfish absorbed 96.4% of dietary protein.     

Effects of salinity on food intake,absorption and conversion in the rainbow trout Salmo gairdneri

In rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri Richardson) which had been acclimatised to the experimental salinity and temperature, food intake was maximal in the intermediate salinities of 15.0 and 28.0%, less in fresh water and 7.5% and minimal, by a statistically significant margin, in 32.5%. There were marked day-to-day fluctuations in food intake. When salinity was abruptly increased by 7.5 or 13.0%, there were decreases in growth rate which were related to decreases in food intake. Recovery of food intake and growth rate to pre-increase levels was complete within 14 days. Absorption efficiency, in terms of total dry matter, total energy and total nitrogen, was negatively related to salinity. Total nitrogen was absorbed considerably more efficiently than either energy or dry matter. Conversion efficiency (K ₁ and K ₂) was estimated, also in terms of dry matter, energy and total nitrogen, in trout of the O+ and 1+ year groups weighing from 50 to 150 g. There was a tendency for conversion efficiency to decline with salinity, especially between 28.0 and 32.5%. Dry matter and energy conversion were significantly lower than nitrogen conversion efficiency.     

Effects of feeding rate on conversion efficiency and chemical composition of the fish Tilapia mossambica

Average daily rations of 14, 35 or 58 mg Tubifex tubifex worm per gram of the fish Tilapia mossambica Peters represent maintenance, optimum or maximum feeding levels. At these levels, conversion efficiency (K ₁) is 5,9 or 24%. An amount of 65 mg worm/g fish/day, when fed under experimental conditions, is converted with the poorest conversion efficiency (4%). Test individuals fed at 11 to 49 mg worm/g fish/day show a decreasing trend in water content (78.1 to 74.8%), and an increasing trend in fat content (32.1 to 44.2%). Below or above this feeding rate range, water content increases, while fat content decreases. The range of individual variations in fat content is nearly 3 times greater than that of ash and 15 times greater than that of water. Test individuals starved for 60 days lose 2.1 mg dry body weight/g/day. This loss is contributed by calorifically equivalent amounts of fat and protein. The endogenous loss of nitrogen by these individuals averaged 0.18 mg N/g body weight/day.     

Fatty acid evidence for the importance of myctophid fishes in the diet of king penguins, Aptenodytes patagonicus

We tested the usefulness of the fatty acid signature-method in investigating the diet of seabirds in conjunction with the conventional technique of stomach-content analysis. We compared the fatty acid composition of subcutaneous white adipose tissue (SWAT) of king penguin chicks (Aptenodytes patagonicus) during fattening periods to that of total lipids from their food. In both spring and autumn, the fatty acid composition of chick SWAT was identical to that of the dietary lipids. Because the diet of adult king penguins feeding for self-maintenance (i.e. not for their chicks) was essentially unknown, we subsequently analysed their SWAT fatty acid patterns after premolting and prebreeding foraging trips (during which they build up large energy reserves). The fatty acid composition of SWAT from adults was identical to that of chick adipose tissue and food. King penguin diet and SWAT were characterized by high levels of very long-chain mono-unsaturated fatty acids (20 to 24 carbon atoms, 16 to 23% by mass) and (n-3) poly-unsaturated fatty acids (19 to 27%); these consisted mainly of 20:1n-9 (5 to 8%) and 22:1n-11 (5 to 8%), and 22:6n-3 (10 to 13%) and 20:5n-3 (3 to 9%), respectively. Prey items identified from chick stomach contents indicated that the bulk of the food was oceanic myctophid fishes, mainly Electrona carlbergi, Krefftichthys anderssoni and Protomyctophum tenisoni. The fatty acid composition of four other species of myctophid fishes was similar to that of penguin diet and SWAT, but markedly different from that measured for a squid species and that reported for crustaceans. These findings indicate that adult king penguins prey on myctophid fish not only to feed their chicks but also for their own nutrition. The fatty acid signature-technique is therefore a reliable method to gain information on the food and feeding ecology of seabirds when more conventional techniques are of limited value. Such information is important to the understanding of trophic relationships between key species of the ecosystems, and also to provide insight into the nature of avian adaptations to the marine environment. Received: 11 December 1997 / Accepted: 25 July 1998     

Food of emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) in the western Ross Sea, Antarctica

The diet of the emperor penguin Aptenodytes forsteri in the western Ross Sea during spring was investigated by analysis of stomach contents sampled at three different localities. At Cape Washington, emperor penguins feeding chicks consistently preyed on fishes (89 to 95% by mass) and crustaceans (5 to 11%) over the four spring seasons examined. By far the commonest prey was the Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarcticum (89% of the fish prey); the remainder of fish prey were mainly unidentified juveniles of different species of channichthyid fishes. Three species dominated the crustacean part of the diet, i.e. the gammarid amphipods Abyssorchomene rossi/plebs (30% of the crustacean prey) and Eusirus microps (22%), together with the euphausiid Euphausia crystallorophias (24%). At Coulman Island and Cape Roget, fishes, mainly P. antarcticum, formed the bulk of the food (88 and 93% by mass, respectively), crustaceans were minor prey (2.5 and 0.4%), and the squid Psychroteuthis glacialis accounted for a small but significant part of the food (3.5 and 0.8%). This study emphasizes the importance of the small, shoaling pelagic fish Pleuragramma antarcticum as a key link between zooplankton and top predators, including seabirds, in the food web and marine ecosystem of the Ross Sea. Received: 20 May 1997 / Accepted: 8 October 1997     

Nitrogen balance in marine fish larvae: influence of developmental stage and prey density

The utilization and fate of nitrogen in larvae of plaice (Pleuronectes platessa), blenny (Blennius pavo) and herring (Clupea harengus), from the stage of first-feeding to metamorphosis, was examined under laboratory conditions. Rates of ammonia excretion, primary amine defaecation, and growth in terms of protein-nitrogen were monitored throughout larval life. Data were used to calculate daily ration, the coefficient of nitrogen utilization (absorption efficiency), and gross and net growth efficiencies. The developmental pattern of nitrogen balance was similar for plaice and blenny larvae. These species showed increasing growth efficiency (k₁: 55 to 80%) with decreasing weight-specific waste nitrogen losses with age. Absorption efficiencies. were high (83 to 98%) in plaice and blenny larvae, and tended to increase with development in the former species. Ration relative to body weight decreased with growth in both species. Herring larval development, although at a slower rate than blenny and plaice, appeared normal up to 33 d, after which high mortality occurred. Absorption efficiency in this species tended to decline (83 to 43%) with age, until metabolic costs exceeded the absorbed ration and growth ceased. Artemia sp. nauplii proved a suitable food source for the rearing of plaice and blenny larvae, but this diet may have long-term toxicity or deficiency effects on herring. Availability and density of food affected nitrogen balance in the larvae of all three species. Feeding stimulated the output of wastes in excretion and defaecation by a factor of up to ten times the 12-h non-feeding basal rates. Waste nitrogen output reached a peak some 2 to 3 h after commencement of feeding and returned slowly to the baseline in 5 to 10 h after cessation of feeding. There was an asymptotic increase in ration, ammonia output and growth of larvae as prey density increased. Ration saturated at a higher prey density (>4 prey ml^-1) than either growth or excretion rate (1 prey ml^-1). Thus the efficiency with which food is absorbed and utilized for growth must eventually decline in response to high prey density. The idea that larval fish are adapted to maximize ingestion and growth rate, rather than optimize growth efficiency and thus to respond to prey occurring in either low density or in occasional patches, is supported by these results.     

Dietary selectivity in the field and food preferences in the laboratory for two herbivorous fishes (Cebidichthys violaceus and Xiphister mucosus) from a temperate intertidal zone

Diets and food selectivity of two stichaeid fishes (Cebidichthys violaceus and Xiphister mucosus) from the rocky intertidal zone of the central California coast (USA) were studied at each season of the year by gut content analysis and abundance measurements of potential macrophyte food items. Both fishes, after reaching a standard length of about 44 mm, were almost exclusively herbivorous. The bulk of the diet consisted of 8 to 10 species of chlorophytes and rhodophytes. These main dietary components were chiefly annual seaweeds with high surfaceto-weight ratios (sheetlike forms or small, highly branched forms). Perennial seaweeds were eaten in relatively large amounts only during the winter. Macrophytes eaten in only trace amounts included about 20 species of chlorophytes, chrysophytes, phaeophytes, rhodophytes and a spermatophyte. The small amount of animal material in the diet (never more than 2% by weight) could well have been ingested incidentally while the fishes were feeding on seaweeds. Food preference tests with up to 19 macrophyte species in the laboratory revealed that both fishes chose to eat three annual rhodophytes (Smithora naiadum, Porphyra perforata and Microcladia coulteri) in preference to Ulva lobata, an annual chlorophyte that was more abundant in the diets of field-caught specimens.     

Transformation of food in the fish Megalops cyprinoides

Comparative studies on feeding, digestion, absorption and conversion have been made in the fish Megalops cyprinoides fed with mosquito fish, Gambusia affinis, and prawn, Metapenaeus monoceros, (Pandian, 1967). Feeding as well as digestion rates are faster in individuals fed with Gambusia than in those fed with prawn. The extent of the differences in food intake is more pronounced in smaller individuals than in larger ones. The prawn exoskeleton prolongs the duration of digestion and thus further reduces rate and amount of food intake. Changes in food quality do not affect absorption efficiency. Both, rate and efficiency of food conversion, are higher in M. cyprinoides fed with Gambusia than with prawn.     

Recherches sur la situation trophique d'un groupe d'organismes pélagiques (Euphausiacea). V. Relations avec les thons

The examination of stomach contents of large subsurface tunas caught by long-line fishing, as well as of those of micronektonic fishes which they had eaten, allows us to assess the role played by euphausiids in food webs concerning these fishes. Long-line tunas do not utilize euphausiids as food because, in the tropical Pacific Ocean, their feeding activity is restricted to light hours, i.e., to a time when large euphausiids which could serve as potential prey, occupy deeper (below 400 m) water layers. Euphausiids constitute approximately 10% of the total food ingested by epipelagic micronektonic fishes which, in turn, are preyed upon by tunas; these fishes, measuring usually 30 to 60 mm in total length, are fast swimmers and are rarely collected by pelagic trawls. Among this ichthyofauna, the main predators of euphausiids appear to be Gempylidae (Diplospinus multistriatus), Paralepididae, and Bramidae (Collybus, Taractes, Pteraclis). Euphausiids ingested by these fishes chiefly belong to the genera Stylocheiron (64%) and Nematoscelis (15%). This means that the fishes which serve as prey for tunas are able to utilize for food only organisms which inhabit subsurface (0 to 400 m) layers during daytime and not those (Euphausia, Thysanopoda) which remain at this time in the deeper layers and rise to the subsurface only at night. Therefore, these fishes, like tunas themselves, appear to display their main feeding activity in the 0 to 400 m water layer and during daytime.     

Coexistence of nine anemonefish species: differential host and habitat utilization, size and recruitment

The region of Madang, Papua New Guinea, has the highest reported species diversity of both anemonefishes (nine species) and their host anemones (ten species). To determine which factors may allow so many anemonefish species to coexist at this location, we studied their patterns of distribution, abundance, and recruitment. Population surveys at three replicate reef sites within four zones situated at varying distances from the mainland (nearshore, mid-lagoon, outer barrier, and offshore) indicated that each species of host anemone and anemonefish lived within a particular range of zones. Each species of anemonefish lived primarily with one species of host. Anemonefish species that lived with the same host species usually had different distribution patterns among zones (e.g., Amphiprion percula occupied Heteractis magnifica in nearshore zones, while A. perideraion occupied H. magnifica in offshore zones). Monitoring of natural populations showed that there were few changes (losses or recruitment) in the number or species of fishes associated with each individual anemone over periods ranging from 3 to 9 months. Recruitment was monitored on anemones with and without residents (resident fishes were removed) within each of three zones (nearshore, mid-lagoon, outer barrier). Significantly more anemonefishes recruited to anemones without resident fishes than to anemones with resident fishes. Each anemonefish species recruited to particular host species and zones. The distribution and abundance of the recruits of each fish species among zones were positively correlated with the distribution and abundance of resident fishes in the benthic habitat. This suggests that the spatial patterns of recruitment among zones strongly determined the distribution and abundance patterns of the benthic populations, and they were not the result of post-recruitment mortality or movement. Coexistence of the nine anemonefish species on the limited anemone resource was considered possible because of niche differentiation (i.e., differences in host and habitat utilization among zones), and the ability of two small species (i.e., Amphiprion sandaracinos and A. leucokranos) to cohabit individual anemones with other anemonefish species. Received: 29 July 1999 / Accepted: 1 September 2000     

Seasonal variation in the balance between physiological mechanisms of feeding and digestion in Mytilus edulis (Bivalvia: Mollusca)

Seasonal variations in the balance between physiological mechanisms of feeding and digestion are considered among 45 to 57 mm shell length Mytilus edulis L. from southwest England. Mussels had been acclimated to standardised conditions of food availability in March, June and October, 1981. Results indicate that despite showing a negative relationship (P<0.001) with the efficiency of ¹⁵N absorption, coincident alterations of both ingestion rate (0.17 to 0.54 mg total Phaeodactylum tricornutum h^-1) and organic gut content (1.00 to 1.80 mg) represent significant mechanisms effecting the seasonal regulation of nutrient acquisition. Concurrent changes in absorption efficiency alone clearly exerted a relatively minor influence upon seasonal rates of absorption. Associated gut residence times of ¹⁵N-labelled material varied between 4 and 10 h. Furthermore, despite the ensuing deleterious effects, together with increased gut contents, absorption efficiencies among mussels that had been starved throughout acclimation were consistently maintained equivalent to those among individuals feeding normally. Such constancy was at least partially achieved by an increased residence time of material within diverticulae, relative to the digestive system as a whole. Finally, comparison of isotopic absorption efficiencies with those recorded for total organics and organic nitrogen has demonstrated differences of as much as 30% between gross and net uptake due, we suggest, to excretion of metabolically derived material within the alimentary canal.     

Relationship of oxygen consumption to swimming speed in Euphausia pacifica

Swimming efficiency (the ratio of thrust power required to overcome hydrodynamic drag to net metabolic energy expenditure) was calculated for the vertically migrating euphausiid Euphausia pacifica swimming at speeds of 1–20 cm s^–1 and at temperatures of 8° and 12°C. Efficiencies ranged from 0.014 to 2.8% at 8°C and 0.009 to 1.69% at 12°C. A comparison with efficiency in fishes 2–3 orders of magnitude larger in weight (efficiency range 10–25%) indicates that locomotion in E. pacifica is far less efficient, a probable result of the organism's small size (x=33.5 mg WW) and multiple-paddle mode of propulsion. Net cost of transport of E. pacifica is three to six times the cost of a hypothetical value for sockeye salmon. Low swimming efficiencies in zooplankton such as E. pacifica are responsible for the underestimation of zooplankton swimming costs. Multiple-paddle propulsion is less efficient than the undulatory mode of fishes.     

The role of Greenland sharks (Somniosus microcephalus) in an Arctic ecosystem: assessed via stable isotopes and fatty acids

The Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) is the only shark species known to inhabit ice-covered seas in the North Atlantic, but remains a missing component in most studies of Arctic food webs. In the present study, stable isotopes (SIs) of nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) and carbon (δ¹³C) and fatty acids (FAs) were analyzed to identify the role of Greenland sharks (sampled during June 2008–2009) in Kongsfjorden, a productive fjord on the west coast of Svalbard, Norway (~79ºN, 12–13ºE). The Greenland shark fed at a high trophic position (4.8) based on δ¹⁵N values, and δ¹³C confirmed that most (70 %) of their carbon was derived from phytoplankton-based food chains, which is consistent with a heavy reliance on pelagic teleosts and seals. Greenland sharks from Kongsfjorden had fatty acid profiles in both muscle and plasma (e.g., low 20:1n-9, high 22:5n-3) that suggested a low portion of Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) and high proportion of gadoids and seals in their diet compared to Greenland sharks sampled in Cumberland Sound, Canada, during April 2008, which were previously shown to derive much of their energy from Greenland halibut. The high proportions of seal fatty acids in both slow- (muscle) and fast- (plasma) turnover tissues indicate that trophic interactions between Greenland sharks and seals in Kongsfjorden are a common occurrence. Results from the present study suggest that Greenland sharks likely play a unique and significant role in Arctic marine food webs as a top predator of fishes and marine mammals.     

Client preferences by Caribbean cleaning gobies: food,safety or something else?

Predation risk is amongst the most pervasive selective pressures influencing behaviour and animals have been repeatedly shown to trade-off foraging success for safety. We examined the nature of this trade-off in cleaning symbioses amongst Caribbean coral reef fishes. We predicted that cleaning gobies (Elacatinus evelynae and Elacatinus prochilos) should prefer fish clients that pose a low risk of predation (e.g. herbivores) over clients that may have more ectoparasites but pose a higher risk (e.g. piscivores). Our field observations revealed that cleaners did clean preferentially client species with more parasites but predatory and non-predatory clients had similar ectoparasite loads. Despite the lack of a foraging advantage for inspecting predators, cleaners did not avoid risky clients. On the contrary, a larger proportion of visiting predators than non-predators was inspected, gobies initiated more interactions with predatory clients, and predators were attended to immediately upon arrival at cleaning stations. This preferential treatment of dangerous clients may allow the rapid identification of cleaners as non-prey item or may be due to the effect of predators on the rest of the cleaners’ clientele, which avoided cleaning stations whilst predators were present. Dealing with potentially risky clients may allow gobies to regain access to their main food source: non-predatory clients.     

Feeding in myodocopid ostracods: functional morphology and laboratory observations from videos

High-resolution videos, scanning electron microscopy and histology were used to study the feeding mechanism of myodocopid ostracods from the Pacific Coast of Japan, as exemplified by Vargula hilgendorfii (Müller, 1890) and a few other cypridinid species. Ostracods observed in the laboratory were attracted to a wide spectrum of natural food sources, behaving as predators of living prey (e.g. polychaete annelids), as opportunistic scavengers on dead animals (e.g. annelids, fishes, squid), and also consuming artificial food. Food sources may be detected by chemoreception. The fourth limb (endopodites with strong sclerotized setae) and the furcal lamellae (claws with teeth) act in coordination to abrade and eventually tear open the protective integument of living/dead prey such as annelids. The mandibular palps are used mainly to hold the food. Food sections and soft-body contents are transferred to the mouth by the fourth limb (endopodial “rake”) and fifth limb (exopodite with pectinate setae) and are passed to the oesophagus by the endites (mandibles, fourth and fifth limbs). Food is subsequently pumped up to the stomach by peristaltic contractions of the oesophagus (ring muscles) and stored in the stomach pouch. The upper lip of bioluminescent (V. hilgendorfii) and non-bioluminescent species of Cypridinidae often contact food, suggesting that some of the glands housed in this organ may emit digestive enzymes prior to ingestion. Ostracods are able to ingest massive quantities of food within a few minutes and to survive starvation for several weeks. In V. hilgendorfii, the midgut is a huge sac-like organ with no partition and is lined with a single layer of columnar epithelial cells. No differentiated hepatopancreas is present. The cypridinid produces a single faecal pellet wrapped in a thin reticulated, peritrophic membrane. Myodocopid ostracods exhibit a wide range of feeding strategies (detritus-feeding, comb-feeding, scavenging, predation, ectoparasitism) in both benthic and pelagic niches, and constitute a substantial source of food for many zooplankters. Adaptation of cypridinids to scavenging/predation is reflected in the morphology of their furcae, mandibles, fourth and fifth limbs, and their digestive system. Palaeontological data suggest that early Triassic cypridinids and possible late Ordovician myodocopids may have been carnivorous scavengers feeding on carcasses of cephalopods (ammonoids or orthoconic nautiloids), thus playing the same role of “recyclers” as modern representatives of the group. Received: 2 January 1998 / Accepted: 23 July 1998