Feeding habits of pacific salmons in the eastern Bering Sea in 2003-2012

• Published in: Izvestiya TINRO
• Main Author: Natalia A. Kuznetsova
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Russian
• Published: Transactions of the Pacific Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography 2015
• Subjects: берингово море; восточная часть; теплый и холодный периоды; зоопланктон; биомасса; лососи; состав; сходство пищи; интенсивность питания; пищевой рацион; Aquaculture. Fisheries. Angling; SH1-691; Bering Sea; Pacific; Sockeye; Pink salmon; Themisto libellula; Thysanoessa raschii; Берингов*
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.26428/1606-9919-2015-181-116-128; https://doaj.org/article/f12b2d58201a4e199c2390734e9c3950

Change in prey for pacific salmons in the eastern Bering Sea is considered between the periods of relatively warm (2003-2006) and relatively cold (2007-2012) conditions on the base of data obtained in the frames of BASIS research program. In the warm period, mean biomass of the large-sized, medium-sized and small-sized fractions of zooplankton was 287.9, 258.2, and 109.2 mg/m3, respectively. In these conditions, fish prey was the basis of diet for pink salmon (70-68 % of ration), chum salmon (64-84 %) and sockeye salmon (45-87 %). Pink, chum, sockeye, and coho salmons had similar diet with the dominance of juvenile walleye pollock (similarity 70-90 %), in contrast to the diet of chinook salmon (40-70 % similarity with others). In the cold period, the large-sized zooplankton was much more abundant (1094.8 mg/m3 on average) mostly due to higher abundance of Copepoda and Chaetognatha; euphausiids, hyperiids, and pteropods were more abundant, as well. In these conditions, zooplankton, mainly euphausiids Thysanoessa raschii and hyperiids Themisto libellula and T. pacifica , dominated in the diet of plankton-eating salmons: 86-92 % of the ration for pink salmon, 88-92 % for chum salmon, and 74-81 % for sockeye salmon; all these species and chinook juveniles had similar diet (70-80 % similarity). On the contrary, predatory salmons as coho and chinook adults still preyed on fish. Mean daily rations in the warm/cold periods are estimated as 12.1/9.4 % of body weight for sockeye salmon with the length 10-20 cm, 8.6/7.3 % for sockeye salmon 20-30 cm, 8.3/13.8 % for chum salmon 10-20 cm, 8.6/10.0 % for chum salmon 20-30 cm, and 8.8/10.3 % for pink salmon 10-25 cm. The prevalence of nekton or planktonic food does not affect on daily rhythm of feeding intensity: juvenile salmons feed mainly in the daytime, so they have the maximal index of stomachs fullness in the evening or early night (100-230 ‱, both in the warm and cold periods). Generally, the salmons prefer fish larvae and juveniles in conditions of low zooplankton ...