Food of Shorthorn Sculpin, Myoxocephalus scorpius , in the Cumberland Sound Area of Baffin Island

• Published in: Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada
• Main Authors: Moore, I. A., Moore, J. W.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1974
• Subjects: General Medicine; Baffin Island; Cumberland Sound; Pangnirtung; Baffin; Copepods
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f74-059; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f74-059

One hundred shorthorn sculpins, Myoxocephalus scorpius, over 15 cm in length captured from June to October, 1972, in Cumberland Sound, Baffin Island, fed almost exclusively (90% by both numbers and dry weight) on the planktonic amphipods Pseudalibrotus glacialis and Parathemisto libellula. In contrast, 140 fish captured about the same times from nearby Pangnirtung Fjord fed heavily on the benthic gastropods Littorina saxatilis and Margarites umbilicalis (each 34% by numbers and 22% by weight) and the bivalve Modiolaria discors (16% by both). Drifting ice on Cumberland Sound probably reduced the level of illumination making the detection of benthic prey difficult and causing the sculpins in this area to feed entirely on the better illuminated, brightly colored plankton. At both localities, the most abundant species in the plankton and the epifauna were also the most frequently encountered in gut contents. On the other hand, coelenterates, planktonic gastropods, copepods, and infauna, all of which were abundant in the environment, were rarely eaten.