Detritus and Juvenile Salmon Production in the Nanaimo Estuary: II. Meiofauna Available as Food to Juvenile Chum Salmon ( Oncorhynchus keta )
The meiofauna of the Nanaimo Estuary are briefly described. Nematodes and harpacticoid copepods were the numerically dominant taxa and reached their maximum population densities in late summer. Harpacticus uniremis was very important to the early diet of juvenile chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) but...
| 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
1979
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f79-073 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f79-073 |
| Summary: | The meiofauna of the Nanaimo Estuary are briefly described. Nematodes and harpacticoid copepods were the numerically dominant taxa and reached their maximum population densities in late summer. Harpacticus uniremis was very important to the early diet of juvenile chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) but was one of the least common harpacticoid copepods in the estuary. The productivity of H. uniremis was found to be only slightly greater than the calculated food requirement of the chum salmon fry; there was close coupling between prey and predator. The role of detritus and bacterially processed carbon in the feeding of H. uniremis are discussed. Key words: harpacticoid copepods, secondary production, detritus, Harpacticus uniremis, turnover ratios, meiofauna |
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