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Cryptic diets of forage fish: jellyfish consumption observed in the Celtic Sea and western English Channel.
Lamb, Philip D; Hunter, Ewan; Pinnegar, John K; van der Kooij, Jeroen; Creer, Simon; Taylor, Martin I.
Affiliation
  • Lamb PD; School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norfolk, UK.
  • Hunter E; School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norfolk, UK.
  • Pinnegar JK; Cefas, Lowestoft, Suffolk, UK.
  • van der Kooij J; School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norfolk, UK.
  • Creer S; Cefas, Lowestoft, Suffolk, UK.
  • Taylor MI; Cefas, Lowestoft, Suffolk, UK.
J Fish Biol ; 94(6): 1026-1032, 2019 Jun.
Article in En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30746684
To establish if fishes' consumption of jellyfish changes through the year, we conducted a molecular gut-content assessment on opportunistically sampled species from the Celtic Sea in October and compared these with samples previously collected in February and March from the Irish Sea. Mackerel Scomber scombrus were found to feed on hydrozoan jellyfish relatively frequently in autumn, with rare consumption also detected in sardine Sardina pilchardus and sprat Sprattus sprattus. By October, moon jellyfish Aurelia aurita appeared to have escaped predation, potentially through somatic growth and the development of stinging tentacles. This is in contrast with sampling in February and March where A. aurita ephyrae were heavily preyed upon. No significant change in predation rate was observed in S. sprattus, but jellyfish predation by S. scombrus feeding in autumn was significantly higher than that seen during winter. This increase in consumption appears to be driven by the consumption of different, smaller jellyfish species than were targeted during the winter.
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Full text: 1 Collection: 01-internacional Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Predatory Behavior / Perciformes / Fishes / Scyphozoa Limits: Animals Language: En Journal: J Fish Biol Year: 2019 Document type: Article Country of publication: Reino Unido

Full text: 1 Collection: 01-internacional Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Predatory Behavior / Perciformes / Fishes / Scyphozoa Limits: Animals Language: En Journal: J Fish Biol Year: 2019 Document type: Article Country of publication: Reino Unido