A comparison of anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) and sardine (Sardina pilchardus) larvae feeding in the Northwest Mediterranean: Influence of prey availability and ontogeny

Abstract

The feeding ecology of the larvae of the two most important small pelagic species in the western Mediterranean, anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) and sardine (Sardina pilchardus), is investigated. Samples were collected in early summer (anchovy) and autumn (sardine). Composition of the diet and prey selectivity were compared over the course of ontogeny in anchovy (2.7-14.5 mm standard length, SL) and sardine (5.5-15.8 mm SL) larvae. Anchovy larvae begin feeding on prey items >150 m at smaller sizes than sardine larvae, and the diets of both species are based mainly on copepod nauplii and postnauplii. Seasonal differences in the composition of the plankton influenced the contributions of prey types to the diets of the two species, e.g. the cladoceran Evadne spp. in anchovy and the tintinnid Codonellopsis sp. in sardine. Although copepod eggs are generally present in the diets of larval clupeoids, they were not major components of the diets of the species considered here. Despite morphological similarity, selection patterns were different between the species and changed through ontogeny. © 2009 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Published by Oxford Journals. All rights reserved.