Abstract
The feeding behaviour ofClupea harengus L. in the light is dependent primarily on prey concentration. In the laboratory the fish feed by biting at low prey concentrations and by filtering at high concentrations. With the brine shrimpArtemia sp. as prey, the concentration required for the onset of filter-feeding was directly dependent on prey size, but the concentration at which 50% of feeding fish were filtering differed little between three sizes of brine shrimp (nauplii, and 2 and 4 mm larvae). When fed onCalanus finmarchicus, however, 50% of fish fed by filtering at concentrations at least six times lower than on any size of brine shrimp. Filter-feeding thresholds forC. finmarchicus were six to ten times lower than for any size ofArtemia sp. and, on the basis of biomass, approximately eight times lower than for equivalent sizedArtemia sp.
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Communicated by J. Mauchline, Oban
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Gibson, R.N., Ezzi, I.A. Relative importance of prey size and concentration in determining the feeding behaviour of the herringClupea harengus . Mar. Biol. 107, 357–362 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01319837
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01319837