Food Habits of the Bay Anchovy, Anchoa mitchilli, in Apalachicola Bay, Florida

Abstract

Ontogenetic, spatial and temporal differences in the feeding habits of A. mitchilli were examined. It was found to feed primarily upon calanoid copepods but consumes a wide variety of items found in the water column of the Apalachicola estuary. The anchovy population does not appear to exploit the seasonal peak in zooplankton abundance, being regulated by the piscivore Cynoscion arenarius during these months.