Size-dependent vulnerability of juvenile bay anchovy Anchoa mitchilli to bluefish predation: does large body size always provide a refuge?

摘要

Bay anchovy are known to be an important component of food webs in estuarine and coastal waters along the US east coast. Despite their role as a primary forage species for several top- level predators in these systems, very little is known about their behavioral interactions with preda- tors and the vulnerability of post-larval life stages to predation. In this study, we examined the vul- nerability of juvenile bay anchovy to age-0 bluefish predation using a size-structured laboratory design. For a range of bay anchovy and bluefish body sizes, we determined predator capture success, handling time costs, feeding rates, and prey profitabilities as functions of relative prey size.