Estimation of diets and food sources of juvenile marbled sole in Sengen Bay, Seto Inland Sea, Japan, based on carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios

摘要

A study with carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis was conducted for inferring the diets and food sources of juvenile marbled sole Pseudopleuronectes yokohamae. A field investigation was conducted inside Sengen Bay, the Seto Inland Sea, Japan. The bottom of Sengen Bay has a mix of dotted seaweed bed areas and muddy sand bed areas. In both bed types, juveniles with a total length of about 15 mm fed on Harpacticoida, and sedimentary organic matter was the source of the food chain. Juveniles with a total length exceeding 30 mm in the dotted seaweed beds fed on benthic, sessile and phyla animals, whereas the juveniles in the muddy sand areas fed on only benthos. Particulate organic matter was the food source in both areas.