Importance of Juvenile Striped Bass Food Habits in the Potomac Estuary

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Abstract
As part of a comprehensive striped bass population dynamics study conducted in the Potomac River in 1976, we examined the stomach contents of 703 juvenile striped bass (Morone saxatilis) to ascertain the importance of feeding patterns of this life stage to regulation of population size. Analysis of stomach data indicated that juveniles (25–100 mm) were flexible, nonselective feeders consuming mostly insect larvae, polychaetes, larval fish, mysids, and amphipods, and that food habits did not change appreciably with size up to 100 mm. Greater abundance and higher feeding success (weight of food items per individual) at nearshore collection sites indicated these to be the preferred habitat of juvenile striped bass. The composition of diet reflected changes in naturel estuarine community composition associated with prevailing salinity patterns. These results suggest that juveniles can adapt to alternative food items readily, which may be an important mechanism in lowering juvenile mortality rates compared to those of earlier postlarval stages, and thereby in stabilizing year‐class strength at this developmental stage.

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