Detecting selective digestion of meiobenthic prey by juvenile spot Leiostomus xanthurus (Pisces) using immunoassays

Abstract

Juvenile spot feed selectively upon meiobenthic harpacticoid copepods, but nematodes outnumber harpacticoids by nearly 4:1 in muddy sediments where juvenile spot feed by taking mouthfuls of the substrate. It is shown that because nematodes are digested rapidly, dietary profiles for juvenile spot may be biased towards hardbodied prey such as the exoskeletons of harpacticoid copepods. The importance of nematode prey has probably been greatly underestimated. -from Authors