Importance of feeding on regenerable parts of prey for juvenile stone flounder Platichthys bicoloratus in estuarine habitats
Tomiyama, T.; Katayama, S.; Omori, M.; Honda, H. (2005). Importance of feeding on regenerable parts of prey for juvenile stone flounder Platichthys bicoloratus in estuarine habitats. J. Sea Res. 53(4): 297-308. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.seares.2005.01.001
In: Journal of Sea Research. Elsevier/Netherlands Institute for Sea Research: Amsterdam; Den Burg. ISSN 1385-1101; e-ISSN 1873-1414, more
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| Keywords |
Developmental stages > Juveniles
Interspecific relationships > Predation > Prey selection
Nursery grounds
Water bodies > Coastal waters > Coastal landforms > Coastal inlets > Estuaries
Nuttallia olivacea
INW, Japan, Natori estuary [Marine Regions]
Marine/Coastal |
| Author keywords |
stone flounder; sublethal predation; prey availability; prey selection;Nuttallia olivacea; siphon cropping |
| Authors | | Top |
- Tomiyama, T.
- Katayama, S.
- Omori, M.
- Honda, H.
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| Abstract |
Prey availability is one of the most important factors affecting the quality of nursery grounds. Estuaries play an important role as nursery grounds for juvenile stone flounder, but the mechanism behind the consistently high availability of prey has never been examined. This study investigates which prey is mainly selected by juvenile stone flounder (15-55 mm standard length) in the estuary of the Natori River, northern Japan. In a cage experiment, juveniles showed positive selection for the palps of the spionid polychaete Pseudopolydora kempi in March, and for the siphons of the bivalve Nuttallia olivacea in April, May and June in both sandy and muddy-sand habitats. This selective predation showed that sublethal predation on regenerable parts of invertebrates is important for stone flounder. Nuttallia olivacea, the dominant bivalve in the estuary, was more abundant and in better somatic condition in the sandy area in spite of the stronger siphon-cropping pressure by juvenile stone flounder. These results confirm that sublethal predation on highly abundant benthos plays an important role in forming estuarine habitats into areas of high prey availability for juvenile stone flounder, which leads to their high growth rate. |
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