Food and feeding ecology of five gadoid larvae in the northern North Sea

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Abstract
The larval diets of five gadoids in the northern North Sea in May in both 1978 and 1979 are described and compared. Cod, Norway pout, saithe, and whiting larvae consumed similar types of prey and showed a general tendency to select increasingly larger prey with increasing body size. The haddock larvae exploited a wider range of prey types, and at comparable lengths they consumed smaller and slower moving organisms than did the other gadoid larvae. The diets of sandeels and long rough dab which were abundant in the area were also examined. The species-specific selectivity patterns with respect to size and mobility of prey fell into two categories: those dictated by the basic body morphology, and those determined by behavioural factors, which were intimately linked to adult behavioural patterns. Competition for food was potentially possible between late larvae, but it could not be identified as a factor causing shifts in dietary characteristics.

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