Cold offshore area provides a favorable feeding ground with lipid‐rich foods for juvenile Japanese sardine

Japanese sardine (Sardinops melanostictus) in the Sea of Japan expanded their distribution from the coast to offshore with an increase in population biomass; however, little is known about the suitability of the offshore habitat for this species. Using lipid analysis, this study compared the body co...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Fisheries oceanography 2021-09, Vol.30 (5), p.455-470
Main Authors: Yasuda, Tohya, Kitajima, Satoshi, Hayashi, Akira, Takahashi, Motomitsu, Fukuwaka, Masa‐aki
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquatic crustaceans
Body condition
Coastal zone
Coasts
condition factor
Diet
food availability
habitat quality
Habitats
lipid
Lipids
Marine fishes
Nursery grounds
Offshore
Plankton
Sardines
small pelagic fish
Trophic relationships
Water temperature
Zooplankton
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Summary:Japanese sardine (Sardinops melanostictus) in the Sea of Japan expanded their distribution from the coast to offshore with an increase in population biomass; however, little is known about the suitability of the offshore habitat for this species. Using lipid analysis, this study compared the body condition of juvenile sardine between an area off the Noto Peninsula (offshore) and the Tsushima Strait (coast), with respect to habitat conditions during the summer, from 2015 to 2017. Sardine in the offshore area had larger bodies and higher lipid contents than those in the coastal area. Regarding the sardine diet, lipid content of the offshore zooplankton was clearly higher than that of the coastal zooplankton. Hence, we found a positive effect of this dietary lipid content on sardine lipid content, suggesting that these lipid measurements could explain the trophic relationship between sardine and zooplankton. The higher lipid content in offshore zooplankton was mainly attributed to the abundance of large‐sized copepods and lower water temperatures. Such lipid measurements might involve habitat‐specific characteristics of zooplankton assemblage. In conclusion, compared to the coastal area, the offshore area is considered a more favorable habitat for the sardine in terms of lipid availability.
ISSN:1054-6006
1365-2419
DOI:10.1111/fog.12530