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The predation impact of juvenile herring Clupea harengus and sprat Sprattus sprattus on estuarine zooplankton
Maes, J.; Tackx, M.; Soetaert, K. (2005). The predation impact of juvenile herring Clupea harengus and sprat Sprattus sprattus on estuarine zooplankton. Hydrobiologia 540(1-3): 225-235. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10750-004-7146-3
In: Hydrobiologia. Springer: The Hague. ISSN 0018-8158; e-ISSN 1573-5117
Also appears in:
Meire, P.; Van Damme, S. (Ed.) (2005). Ecological structures and functions in the Scheldt Estuary: from past to future. Hydrobiologia, 540(1-3). Springer: Dordrecht. 1-278 pp., more
Peer reviewed article  
Available in  Authors 
    Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee: Open Marine Archive 141075 [ download pdf ]
Keywords
    Consumption
    Consumption
    Consumption
    Fishes > Osteichthyes > Clupeiformes > Clupeidae > Clupea > Marine fishes > Herrings
    Herrings
    Interspecific relationships > Predation
    Production
    Production
    Production
    Water bodies > Coastal waters > Coastal landforms > Coastal inlets > Estuaries
    Acartia tonsa Dana, 1849-1852 [WoRMS]; Calanoida [WoRMS]; Clupea harengus Linnaeus, 1758 [WoRMS]; Clupea harengus Linnaeus, 1758 [WoRMS]; Eurytemora affinis (Poppe, 1880) [WoRMS]; Eurytemora affinis (Poppe, 1880) [WoRMS]; Sprattus sprattus (Linnaeus, 1758) [WoRMS]; Sprattus sprattus (Linnaeus, 1758) [WoRMS]
    Belgium, Zeeschelde [Marine Regions]; Belgium, Zeeschelde, Doel [Marine Regions]
    Marine/Coastal; Brackish water; Fresh water
Author keywords
    top-down control; predation; consumption; production; herring; sprat; calanoid copepods; estuary; Eurytemora affinis; Acartia tonsa
Authors  Top 
  • Maes, J.
  • Tackx, M.
  • Soetaert, K.
Abstract
    The consumption of estuarine copepods by juvenile herring and sprat during estuarine residency was estimated using fish biomass data and daily rations calculated from two models of feeding in fish: a bioenergetic model and a gastric evacuation model. The bioenergetic model predicted daily rations that were, on average, three times higher than those estimated by a model based on field records of stomach contents. The biomass of herring and sprat in the estuary was negatively correlated with the daily ration suggesting that the clupeid fish populations were resource-limited. Copepod production decreased towards the winter and peaked in spring and summer. The relative importance of predation changed seasonally in function of the migration pattern of herring and sprat. In the spring and the summer, in situ production of copepod biomass was higher than the in situ consumption by fish. During the fall and the winter, consumption exceeded production. This suggests that top–down control exerted by marine pelagic fish may be an important force structuring estuarine copepod populations.
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