Dispersion and feeding of larval herring (Clupea harengus L.) in the Moray Firth during September 1985 |
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| Authors: | M Heath M Leaver A Matthews N Nicoll |
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| Abstract: | A plume of herring larvae dispersing from a spawning site at Clythness in the Moray Firth (northern Scotland) was surveyed during early September 1985. Several cohorts of larvae were evident from the length distributions, and these were arranged in order of increasing length (age) towards the south-west. The spacing of cohort centres indicated a drift rate of 1–2 km day−1.Calanoid copepod nauplii constituted the major proportion of the diet of larvae <10 mm sampled during the study. Cyclopoid copepod nauplii and gastropod veligers were not found in the diet although they were present in the water. The distribution of nauplii in the region was inversely correlated with the concentration of phytoplankton chlorophyll, and nauplii concentrations were above average in the vicinity of the herring spawning site. The drift trajectory of the herring larvae took them towards an area of high copepodite and adult copepod concentration—items which formed an increasing part of the diet of larger (older) larvae. |
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| Keywords: | herring larvae North Sea drift feeding |
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