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Predation by sprat and herring on pelagic fish eggs in a plaice spawning area in the Irish Sea
Author(s) -
Ellis T.,
Nash R. D. M.
Publication year - 1997
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.1095-8649.1997.tb01647.x
Subject(s) - sprat , herring , biology , fishery , pelagic zone , predation , irish sea , forage fish , fish <actinopterygii> , whiting , zoology , ecology , oceanography , geology
Predation on planktonic fish eggs was examined by stomach content analysis of sprat and herring sampled in a plaice spawning area to the east of the Isle of Man in March 1993. Plankton samples were taken to examine prey selection. The clupeids showed a selection for the later developmental stages of plaice eggs. Plaice eggs had a refuge in size from predation by sprat <80 mm total length which selected smaller non‐plaice eggs. However, herring and sprat >80 mm total length showed a strong selection for plaice eggs, presumably due to their large size.