Food, Feeding, and Condition of Lobsters, Homarus americanus , Throughout the Seasonal Cycle in Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland
The rock crab, Cancer irroratus, and spider crab, Hyas araneus, made up about 50% of the food of lobsters in Bonavista Bay, Nfld. The sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus dröbachiensis, several species of molluscs, and several species of sea stars made up 7.1, 10.9, and 10%, respectively. The remainder wa...
| Published in: | Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
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Canadian Science Publishing
1973
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f73-309 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f73-309 |
| Summary: | The rock crab, Cancer irroratus, and spider crab, Hyas araneus, made up about 50% of the food of lobsters in Bonavista Bay, Nfld. The sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus dröbachiensis, several species of molluscs, and several species of sea stars made up 7.1, 10.9, and 10%, respectively. The remainder was mainly a variety of bottom invertebrates but fish and seaweeds were also fairly common. There was a change to a slightly more calcium-rich diet during the molting season. A rapid increase in feeding activity during the summer coincided with increasing temperatures, but despite decreasing temperatures during the fall, feeding activity remained high. The feeding index for females remained high longer into the winter than for males. Physiological condition was directly related to the molting cycle. Premolt condition was very high, postmolt very low, and recovery to the intermolt condition was attained about [Formula: see text] months after the peak molting period. |
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