Foraging Potential of Larval Alosines in the Lower Roanoke River and Albemarle Sound, North Carolina

Zooplankton composition and abundances were quantified in the lower Roanoke River and Albemarle Sound, North Carolina. The spatial and temporal overlap between larval alosines, including American shad Alosa sapidissima, river herring (alewife A. pseudoharengus and blueback herring A. aestivalis), hi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine and coastal fisheries 2012, Vol.4 (1), p.201-217
Main Authors: Binion, Samantha M, Overton, Anthony S, Riley, Kenneth L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abundance
Alosa sapidissima
Animal behavior
Aquatic crustaceans
Bosminidae
Composition
Copepoda
Daphniidae
Egg yolk
Fish
Fishing
Food
Foods
Foraging
Freshwater
Freshwater fishes
Hypotheses
Laboratories
Larvae
Marine
Nauplii
Plankton
Prey
Rivers
Rotifera
Sound
Spatial variations
SPECIAL SECTION: AMERICAN SHAD AND RIVER HERRING
Success
Yolk
Yolk sac
Zooplankton
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Summary:Zooplankton composition and abundances were quantified in the lower Roanoke River and Albemarle Sound, North Carolina. The spatial and temporal overlap between larval alosines, including American shad Alosa sapidissima, river herring (alewife A. pseudoharengus and blueback herring A. aestivalis), hickory shad A. mediocris, and Zooplankton were examined to determine whether larval alosines in this system are food limited. Samples were collected weekly at 19 stations from March through June 2008–2009 in three habitats: River, Delta, and Sound. Spatial differences in Zooplankton were observed, with the abundance in the Sound (16,546 ± 14,678 [number/m3 ± SD]) being significantly higher than those in the River (4,934 ± 3,806) and Delta areas (4,647 ± 2,846). Zooplankton composition was dominated by Daphniidae, Bosminidae, calanoid and cyclopoid copepods, copepod nauplii, and rotifers. The spatial patterns in alosine abundance were the opposite of those for Zooplankton, being highest in the River (21.0 ± 127.6) and lower in the Delta (7.5 ± 35.5) and Sound (4.6 ± 24.8). Mouth gape models for each alosine species showed that copepod nauplii and rotifers are the most suitable-sized prey for the first feeding after yolk sac absorption. There was a high degree of spatial and temporal overlap between larval alosines and size-appropriate prey items, suggesting that the larval alosines are not food limited in Albemarle Sound.
ISSN:1942-5120
1942-5120
DOI:10.1080/19425120.2012.675977