Food sources of sublittoral, bathyal and abyssal asteroids in the northeast Pacific Ocean

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Abstract
Sea stars from the sublittoral to the abyssal zone at 4260 meters depth in the northeast Pacific Ocean were examined for food source. A total of 491 specimens of 29 species were dissected for stomach content analyses. Seven species are predators; six, deposit-detritus feeders; thirteen, omnivores; and the feeding habits of three remain unknown. There are changes in feeding type with increasing depth; the relative abundance of predators decreases from 67 to 0%, and the deposit-detritus feeders, from 33 to 14%. The omnivores increase from 0% on the inner continental shelf at a depth of 50 meters to 71% on the abyssal plains. It is concluded that in the near-shore abyssal environment the deep-sea asteroids are generally facultative feeders and obtain food from the sediments as well as prey or animal remains, while in the food-rich shallow waters of the inner continental shelf the asteroid fauna are generally specialized carnivores.