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Observations on the Food and Growth of Juvenile American Shad, Alosa Sapidissima
Author(s) -
Walburg Charles H.
Publication year - 1957
Publication title -
transactions of the american fisheries society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1548-8659
pISSN - 0002-8487
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8659(1956)86[302:ootfag]2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - alosa , juvenile , fishery , habitat , crustacean , biology , fish <actinopterygii> , geography , ecology , fish migration
Previous studies on the food habits of juvenile American shad have been restricted to one area such as an individual river or a group of ponds. In this study juveniles were obtained from six widely separated rivers. It was found that the food taken, mostly insects and crustaceans, was approximately the same in all rivers sampled. In general young shad appeared to utilize those food organisms which were most available in their habitat at a particular time. Phytoplankton was not observed in any of the 453 stomachs examined. The average lengths of the shad sampled from the various rivers, excluding the Famunkey River sample, were similar although the southern river samples spawned earlier than those from the more northern rivers.