Observations on the food of juvenile Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L, reared in a Scottish hill loch

• Published in: Journal of Fish Biology
• Main Author: Morrison, B. R. S.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1983
• Subjects: Canada; Atlantic salmon; Salmo salar; Copepods
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.1983.tb02909.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1095-8649.1983.tb02909.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1095-8649.1983.tb02909.x

An analysis of the stomach contents of 0+ and 1 + Atlantic salmon parr, Salmo salar , introduced into a Scottish hill loch showed that benthos, plankton, and surface organisms were all taken. Molluscs comprised a relatively small proportion of the food material, probably because they are less active than other animal groups. The most abundant plankter was Daphnia hyalina. Cyclops spp. were scarce and no Diaptomus spp. were present in the stomachs despite their abundance in the loch plankton. Laboratory experiments indicated that copepods were difficult to capture and that D. hyalina was the organism most frequently selected, even when larger individuals of this species were removed from the environment. Differences between the results from the Scottish loch and similar work in Wales, Sweden and Canada are discussed.