Food preferences of larvae of Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarcticum 1 Boulenger, 1902 from Terre Adélie coastal waters during summer 2004

• Published in: Polar Science
• Main Authors: Vallet, Carole, Beans, C., Koubbi, P., Courcot, L., Hecquet, J.H, Goffart, A.
• Other Authors: Laboratoire d’Océanologie et de Géosciences (LOG) - UMR 8187 (LOG), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université du Littoral Côte d'Opale (ULCO)-Université de Lille-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD France-Nord )
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2011
• Subjects: [SDU.STU.OC]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Oceanography; Antarctic; D'Urville Sea; Dumont d'Urville; Dumont-d'Urville; Terre Adélie; Terre-Adélie; Antarc*; Antarctic silverfish; Antarctica; Dumont D'Urville Sea; Copepods
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00760602; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polar.2010.12.005

International audience Ichthyoplankton samples were collected from 19 to 31 January 2004 in the Dumont d'Urville Sea (East Antarctic shelf). The Nototheniidae Pleuragramma antarcticum comprised more than 90 % of the sampled larvae. Gut contents of 95 P. antarcticum larvae were examined. Most larvae fed on phytoplankton, especially diatoms, whereas some other specimens had a mixed diet with phyto- and zooplankton prey. A single specimen fed exclusively on copepods. The stomach contents was dominated by three diatoms taxa, such as Thalassiothrix antarctica, Fragilariopsis spp. and Chaetoceros spp. Prey selection was apparently food density dependent, with an inverse relationship between food abundance and selection feeding. Larvae selected positively some diatoms, such as Coscinodiscus spp. and T. antarctica, presenting a low concentration in the water column compared to Fragilariopsis spp., which were strongly negatively selected. During summer, larvae were opportunistic feeders with a broad trophic niche, which allowed them to switch between different food types