Cryptic diets of forage fish: Jellyfish consumption observed in the Celtic Sea and Western English Channel

Lamb, Philip D., Hunter, Ewan, Pinnegar, John K. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5061-9520, van der Kooij, Jeroen, Creer, Simon and Taylor, Martin I. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3858-0712 (2019) Cryptic diets of forage fish: Jellyfish consumption observed in the Celtic Sea and Western English Channel. Journal of Fish Biology, 94 (6). pp. 1026-1032. ISSN 0022-1112

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Abstract

To establish if fishes’ consumption of jellyfish changes through the year, we conducted a molecular gut‐content assessment on opportunistically sampled species from the Celtic Sea in October and compared these with samples previously collected in February and March from the Irish Sea. Mackerel Scomber scombrus were found to feed on hydrozoan jellyfish relatively frequently in autumn, with rare consumption also detected in sardine Sardina pilchardus and sprat Sprattus sprattus. By October, moon jellyfish Aurelia aurita appeared to have escaped predation, potentially through somatic growth and the development of stinging tentacles. This is in contrast with sampling in February and March where A. aurita ephyrae were heavily preyed upon. No significant change in predation rate was observed in S. sprattus, but jellyfish predation by S. scombrus feeding in autumn was significantly higher than that seen during winter. This increase in consumption appears to be driven by the consumption of different, smaller jellyfish species than were targeted during the winter.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Special Issue: FSBI Symposium 2018: The Sustainable Use and Exploitation of Fishes, University of East Anglia, 9–13 July 2018 Funding information: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Grant/Award Number: MF1112; Natural Environment Research Council, Grant/Award Number: NE/L002582/1
Uncontrolled Keywords:	16s mtdna,celtic sea,diet,english channel,gelatinous zooplankton,molecular gut-content analysis
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Biological Sciences Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Collaborative Centre for Sustainable Use of the Seas Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Organisms and the Environment Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	13 Feb 2019 11:30
Last Modified:	14 Oct 2024 10:30
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/69919
DOI:	10.1111/jfb.13926

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