A Comparison of Larval Feeding Habits among Striped Bass, White Perch and Clupeidae in the Potomac Estuary

摘要

This report presents and analyzes comparative data of the feeding habits of larval striped bass, white perch and clupeids, primarily alewife and blueblack herring. Stomach contents of 1,418 larval striped bass, 2,578 larval white perch and 984 larval clupeids collected in the Potomac River during 1976 and 1977 were analyzed and compared with concurrently collected zooplankton samples. Jacobs' selectivity and Ivlev's electivity indices were used to help assess the active selection or avoidance of zooplankton by larval fish.Zooplankton cross-correlation was performed between availability, and presence and composition of food in larval guts to illustrate possible competitive patterns in the Potomac Estuary.