Feeding by Chaetognatha: The Relation of Prey Size to Predator Size in Several Species

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Abstract
The mean size of prey items, measured as body width (H), is related to chaetognath predator head width (P) of several chaetognath species as a power curve: H = a Pb, a varying between 0.33 and 0.86, and, b between 0.27 and 0.82. This is the expected general form of the relationship when predators and prey have different allometric exponents. There are a number of artefacts of laboratory and statistical analyses which can affect the magnitudes of these coefficients. Real differences in the prey/predator size relationship exist between species, and within species in different areas. Because chaetognaths are probably 1 of the main sources of predation pressure on the copepod community, both the general form of their prey-size selection and differences in this function between species may influence the size structures of lower trophic levels.