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Feeding selectivity in larvae of the European hake (Merluccius merluccius) in relation to ontogeny and visual capabilities

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An Erratum to this article was published on 26 March 2011

Abstract

Feeding ecology was analysed for the first time in the larvae of the European hake (Merluccius merluccius) to determine whether their diet and selectivity were constrained by environmental conditions and how these feeding characteristics were related to ontogeny, prey availability and visual capabilities. Larvae collected during both day and night were analysed, and it was found that feeding incidence was high, regardless of the time of day. Examination of the visual system corroborated the hypothesis that hake larvae should be able to cope with a wide range of photic conditions and to forage even at low light intensity. A clear preference for adult calanoid copepods and, especially, for Clausocalanus spp. was observed in all sizes analysed. Prey number increased with larval size, but prey size did not. This finding indicates that hake larvae behave as selective and specialist predators that consume an increasing number of prey rather than larger prey during larval growth.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are most grateful to the colleagues who worked with us on the MAS surveys. Special mention is made of I. Álvarez for his help in sorting larvae and Dr. P. Pankhurst for her advice in vision techniques. A. Lounds and AJE edited the English version. The research was funded by projects CTM2004-03510-C02-01/MAR and CTM2004-03510-C02-02/MAR. E. Morote acknowledges predoctoral FPI Fellowship support from Spain’s Ministry of Education and Science.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut de Ciències del Mar (CSIC), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49, 08003, Barcelona, Spain

    Elvira Morote, María Pilar Olivar & Anna Bozzano

  2. Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, University of the Basque Country, Barrio Sarriena s/n, 48940, Leioa, Spain

    Fernando Villate

  3. Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of the Basque Country, Paseo de la Universidad 7, 01006, Gasteiz, Spain

    Ibon Uriarte

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  1. Elvira Morote
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  2. María Pilar Olivar
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  3. Anna Bozzano
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  4. Fernando Villate
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  5. Ibon Uriarte
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Correspondence to Elvira Morote.

Additional information

Communicated by M. A. Peck.

An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00227-011-1677-8

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Morote, E., Olivar, M.P., Bozzano, A. et al. Feeding selectivity in larvae of the European hake (Merluccius merluccius) in relation to ontogeny and visual capabilities. Mar Biol 158, 1349–1361 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-011-1654-2

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