Diel trophic interactions between vertically-migrating zooplankton and their fish predators in an eelgrass community
✍ Scribed by A. I. Robertson; R. K. Howard
- Book ID
- 104756040
- Publisher
- Springer-Verlag
- Year
- 1978
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 608 KB
- Volume
- 48
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0025-3162
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Diel changes in the c o m p o s i t i o n of c r u s t a c e a n z o o p l a n k t o n and the diets of fish predators from an intertidal eelgrass flat were m o n i t o r e d concurrently. The zoop l a n k t o n is c h a r a c t e r i z e d by two major components. The obligate zooplankters (holop l a n k t o n i c c a l a n o i d copepods and m e r o p l a n k t o n i c decapod larvae) appear to exhibit v e r t i c a l migration, being present in higher densities near the surface of the water column at night. The f a c u l t a t i v e z o o p l a n k t o n (amphipods and ostracods) are benthic during the day, but move up into the water column at night. P l a n k t i v o r o u s m i d w a t e rd w e l l i n g fish consume calanoid copepods and decapod larvae during the day and cease feeding or switch their diet to amphipods at night. B e n t h i c -d w e l l i n g fish consume some amphipods during both day and night. The factors important in prey selection by fish and the functional s i g n i f i c a n c e of v e r t i c a l m i g r a t i o n in both components of the z o o p l a n k t o n are d i s c u s s e d in the light of the changing patterns of fish predation.