| Popis: |
Stomach content data on 14,796 spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) from British Columbia waters are presented. The major dietary components based on occurrence were 55% teleosts, 35% crustaceans, and 5% molluscs. The principal food items were herring (22%) and euphausiids (14%). Prey was largely pelagic (80%), with fishes predominating in winter and invertebrates in summer. Fishes became more important in the diet with increasing dogfish size. Dogfish consumed twice as much food in summer as in winter. Annual consumption varied from 5 times biomass for small dogfish to 2.5 times for larger animals. Preliminary analyses suggest that dogfish consume over 5 times the current annual commercial catch of herring, but insignificant quantities of salmon. Key words: dogfish, Squalus, feeding, food, biomass, predation, metabolism, seasonality, survivorship, digestion |
