Summer and spring trophic niche of larval and juvenile Pleuragramma antarcticum in the Western Ross Sea, Antarctica

The aim of this paper is to contribute to the knowledge on the feeding habits of larvae and juvenile Pleuragramma antarcticum in the western Ross Sea. In summer, the diet of P. antarcticum postlarvae (8-17 mm) was dominated by calanoid eggs (35.5%), Limacina (32.1%) and tintinnids (17.6%), while the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar biology 2009-03, Vol.32 (3), p.369-382
Main Authors: Granata, Antonia, Zagami, Giacomo, Vacchi, Marino, Guglielmo, Letterio
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal behavior
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Developmental stages
Diet
Ecology
Fish
Food
Larvae
Life Sciences
Microbiology
Oceanography
Oceans
Original Paper
Plant Sciences
Prey
Sea ice
Spring
Studies
Summer
Zoology
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Summary:The aim of this paper is to contribute to the knowledge on the feeding habits of larvae and juvenile Pleuragramma antarcticum in the western Ross Sea. In summer, the diet of P. antarcticum postlarvae (8-17 mm) was dominated by calanoid eggs (35.5%), Limacina (32.1%) and tintinnids (17.6%), while the principal food of juveniles consisted mainly of copepods (98.2%), with Oncaea curvata being the most abundant (85.1%) and the most frequently consumed prey. The food composition of P. antarcticum postlarvae (24-29 mm), collected in spring, suggest that they fed actively under the sea ice. Stephos longipes, Harpacticus furcifer and Paralabidocera antarctica sea ice copepods represent, in all their different developmental stages, the most abundant biomass food in Terra Nova Bay in this period. Our results therefore suggest that the diet of younger Pleuragramma specimens shifted in prey composition from the first summer to the following spring. This study draws attention to the key role of the copepod, P. antarctica, in the food web of Terra Nova Bay.
ISSN:0722-4060
1432-2056
DOI:10.1007/s00300-008-0551-8