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Predation on walleye pollock (Theragra chakograrnma) eggs and yolk‐sac larvae by pelagic crustacean invertebrates in the western Gulf of Alaska
Author(s) -
BAILEY KEVIN M.,
BRODEUR RICHARD D.,
MERATI NAZILA,
YOKLAVICH AND MARY M.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
fisheries oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.016
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1365-2419
pISSN - 1054-6006
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2419.1993.tb00010.x
Subject(s) - predation , pollock , pelagic zone , biology , invertebrate , predator , fishery , crustacean , larva , yolk , zoology , ecology
Immunological detection of yolk protein was used to assess predation by pelagic amphipods (gammarid and hyperiid), mysids, and euphausiids on eggs and yolk‐sac larvae of walleye pollock Theragra chalcogramma during 1988 and 1989. Consumption estimates were made on the basis of frequency of positive immunoassays, assay detection times (gut clearance time), predator abundance, and spatial overlap of predators and prey. From our results gammarid amphipods and euphausiids were important predators on eggs and yolk‐sac larvae, respectively. Gammarid amphipods alone consumed about 14% of the standing stock of pollock eggs in 1989. These results were compared with those from clearance rate experiments of predators feeding on pollock eggs in 300‐1 bags. In general, clearance rate estimates of egg consumption were lower than those determined from gut contents.