Daily ration of Antarctic silverfish (Pleuragramma antarcticum Boulenger, 1902) in the Eastern Weddell Sea

• Published in: Scientia Marina
• Main Authors: Ignacio Olaso, Antoni Lombarte, Francisco Velasco
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas 2004
• Subjects: daily ration; evacuation rate; antarctic; pelagic fish; temperature; Aquaculture. Fisheries. Angling; SH1-691; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Weddell Sea; Weddell; Elliot; Persson; Antarc*; Antarctic silverfish
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.2004.68n3419; https://doaj.org/article/53c097ba898648009a78281a8e5f0e68

The daily ration of Pleuragramma antarcticum in the Eastern Weddell Sea was investigated from midwater and bottom trawl samples collected in the Antarctic in the summer of 1998. Using a gastric evacuation model that takes into account Weddell Sea temperature below zero and information on the prey type daily ration estimates were: 1.133% BW for immature fish of 10-16 cm and 0.484% BW for mature fish of 17-24 cm. The low daily ration intake was influenced by the low temperatures that limited the rate of gastric evacuation. This model seems more realistic than results from the classic Elliot & Persson and Eggers models that are also used in this paper, since their assumptions on feeding regularity are more rigid and they do not consider data of energy density of the prey.