Feeding selectivity in larvae of the European hake (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Merluccius merluccius</Emphasis>) in relation to ontogeny and visual capabilities |
| |
Authors: | Elvira Morote María Pilar Olivar Anna Bozzano Fernando Villate Ibon Uriarte |
| |
Institution: | 1.Institut de Ciències del Mar (CSIC),Barcelona,Spain;2.Department of Plant Biology and Ecology,University of the Basque Country,Leioa,Spain;3.Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Pharmacy,University of the Basque Country, Paseo de la Universidad 7,Gasteiz,Spain |
| |
Abstract: | Feeding ecology was analysed for the first time in the larvae of the European hake (Merluccius merluccius) to determine whether their diet and selectivity were constrained by environmental conditions and how these feeding characteristics
were related to ontogeny, prey availability and visual capabilities. Larvae collected during both day and night were analysed,
and it was found that feeding incidence was high, regardless of the time of day. Examination of the visual system corroborated
the hypothesis that hake larvae should be able to cope with a wide range of photic conditions and to forage even at low light
intensity. A clear preference for adult calanoid copepods and, especially, for Clausocalanus spp. was observed in all sizes analysed. Prey number increased with larval size, but prey size did not. This finding indicates
that hake larvae behave as selective and specialist predators that consume an increasing number of prey rather than larger
prey during larval growth. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|