Feeding hotspots for four northwest Atlantic groundfish species

• Published in: ICES Journal of Marine Science
• Main Authors: Methratta, Elizabeth T., Link, Jason S.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford University Press (OUP) 2012
• Subjects: Northwest Atlantic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fss124; http://academic.oup.com/icesjms/article-pdf/69/10/1710/29149524/fss124.pdf

Abstract Methratta, E.T., and Link, J.S. 2012. Feeding hotspots for four northwest Atlantic groundfish species. — ICES Journal of Marine Science, 69: 1710–1721. We used predator distribution and stomach content data to estimate the annual per capita rate of consumption for four representative predator species from the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, and considered how consumption is influenced by depth, bottom salinity, sediment grain size, location variables, and species-specific diet components. We found that geographic variables and species-specific prey resources were significantly associated with consumption rates, a pattern consistent with predator-prey theory. Prey categories comprised of fish were particularly important for a more mobile predator (silver hake Merluccius bilinearis), whereas benthic invertebrate prey were consistently important for a more sedentary predator (little skate Raja erinacea). Hotspots in consumption rates that overlap with particular prey resources were highlighted by the significance of location variables (longitude) for winter flounder Pseudopleuronectes americanus, silver hake, little skate, and sea raven Hemitripterus americanus. Depth was an important explanatory factor for consumption by little skate, but the explanatory value of abiotic habitat factors was low for the other three species. Greater emphasis on species-specific food habits, migratory patterns, and ecological interactions at the synoptic scales relevant to fisheries is needed for fisheries management.