Source of harpacticoid copepods in the diet of juvenile starry flounder

Abstract

Juvenile Platichthys stellatus feed intertidally in Auke Bay, Alaska, and show high selectivity for the meiobenthic harpacticoid copepod Microarthridion littorale. This species is found in high relative abundance in gut contents and males are taken as prey in much greater numbers than females or copepodites. Differential emergence patterns among potential prey may be an explanation. Juvenile starry flounder do not feed by biting into the sediment but strike at prey objects in the water column. The observed pattern of selection may be a result of emergent behavior of male M. littorale. Major taxon level comparisons suggest that harpacticoid densities decline in response to predation pressure. Species-level identifications, however, provide no evidence that harpacticoid densities are limited by predation. -from Author