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Correlation between digestion rate and feeding frequency in the stomachless teleost, Blennius pholis L.
Author(s) -
Grove D. J.,
Crawford C.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
journal of fish biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1095-8649
pISSN - 0022-1112
DOI - 10.1111/j.1095-8649.1980.tb03701.x
Subject(s) - foregut , biology , digestion (alchemy) , fish <actinopterygii> , body weight , zoology , littoral zone , anatomy , fishery , ecology , endocrinology , chemistry , chromatography
Foregut emptying in Blennius pholis at 16–18°C is exponential ( S t = S o e ‐Rt ; R=0.006 when t is in min and s in mg dry weight). In consequence, the time for the foregut to empty completely varies in proportion to ln (meal size) in a chosen size of fish or to ln (body weight) in different sized fish fed to the same relative amount (% body weight). Appetite returns rapidly in comparison with other species (4–15 h for fish of 0.5−30 g) and, because of the tidal constraints imposed on this littoral fish, voluntarily ingested meals are large (14–9% body weight depending on fish size). Studies on digestion in small, stomachless fish are not adequately made using X‐radiography and must be supported by sequential gut samples after a meal.