The feeding habits of slope dwelling macrourid fishes in the eastern North Pacific

The diet of slope dwelling macrourid fishes in the eastern North Pacific is poorly known. We collected several hundred stomach samples to investigate the feeding habits of Coryphaenoides acrolepis and Albatrossia pectoralis, the two dominant slope dwelling macrourids off the continental United State...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Deep-sea research. Part I, Oceanographic research papers Oceanographic research papers, 2001-03, Vol.48 (3), p.909-935
Main Authors: Drazen, Jeffrey C, Buckley, Troy W, Hoff, Gerald R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agnatha. Pisces
Albatrossia pectoralis
Animal and plant ecology
Animal behavior
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Autoecology
Biological and medical sciences
Coryphaenoides acrolepis
Deep-sea fisheries
Diets
Feeding behaviour
Fish
Food chains
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Macrouridae
Marine
Marine biology
North Pacific
Scavengers
USA
Vertebrata
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Summary:The diet of slope dwelling macrourid fishes in the eastern North Pacific is poorly known. We collected several hundred stomach samples to investigate the feeding habits of Coryphaenoides acrolepis and Albatrossia pectoralis, the two dominant slope dwelling macrourids off the continental United States. Coryphaenoides acrolepis exhibited a pronounced ontogenetic shift in diet. Specimens 15 cm with scavenged food constituting approximately 20% of the weight of total prey and occurring in approximately 20% of fish 21–29 cm. Albatrossia pectoralis consumed primarily midwater fish and squid, and we believe that it feeds in the water column. There were significant differences between the diets of A. pectoralis and C. acrolepis suggesting some degree of niche separation between macrourid species on the continental slope of the eastern North Pacific. Both species are at the top of the food web on the upper continental slope and, because of their abundance, may exert significant pressures on their prey populations.
ISSN:0967-0637
1879-0119
DOI:10.1016/S0967-0637(00)00058-3