Prey concentrations and feeding response in laboratory-reared stage-one zoeae of king crab, snow crab, and pink shrimp
Paul, AJ.; Paul, JM.; Shoemaker, PA.; Feder, HM.
Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 1085: 440-443
1979
ISSN/ISBN: 0002-8487 DOI: 10.1577/1548-8659(1979)108<440:pcafri>2.0.co;2
Accession: 021597278
Prey population densities necessary to elicit a successful feeding response in the 1st zoeae of king crab, Paralithodes camtschatica, snow crab, Chionoecetes bairdi and pink shrimp, Pandalus borealis, from Kachemak Bay, Cook Inlet, Alaska USA were determined. In the laboratory, king crab zoeae consumed an average of 0.8, 1.3, 2.6 and 7.6 prey per day in 500-ml beakers in which the number of small copepods equaled 20, 40, 80 and 160/l, respectively. At these same prey densities, zoeae of snow crab and pink shrimp ingested an average of 0.5, 1.3, 2.2, 4.8, and 0.7, 1.5, 2.3, 5.3 prey per day, respectively. Prey densities had to equal 80/l before zoeae of all 3 spp. were able to consistently capture at least 1 prey item successfully each day. Prey densities of this magnitude are considerably higher than those determined by oblique net tows in the study area, Kachemak Bay, Alaska.