Abstract
We examined the feeding habits of Benthosema pterotum in Kagoshima Bay. Benthosema pterotum undertook diel vertical migration and preyed in shallow waters at night. The most frequently consumed prey were copepods, and B. pterotum selectively foraged on poecilostomatoids. Poecilostomatoids were more predominant in the Kagoshima Bay zooplankton community than in neighboring sites, which suggested that the B. pterotum preference for poecilostomatoids may be an adaptation by the local population to prey availability. Benthosema pterotum probably plays an important role as a biological pump contributor and as a mediator that links secondary production and higher trophic levels.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by 20K06186 (JSPS), grants from Functional Enhancement Expenses in Kagoshima University Operating Cost Grant (Advanced research infrastructure of biology and physiology of eel species inhabiting in southern Kyushu, Japan, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia and creation of industry–academia–government network to induce the social implementation of those research results) and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan [Study of Kuroshio Ecosystem Dynamics for Sustainable Fisheries (SKED)].
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Habano, A., Kobari, T., Ohbayashi, W. et al. Feeding habits of the skinnycheek lanternfish [Benthosema pterotum (Alcock, 1890)] in Kagoshima Bay, southern Japan. Ichthyol Res 68, 164–170 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-020-00758-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-020-00758-2