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Effect of particle concentration on filter- and particulate-feeding in the herring Clupea harengus

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Abstract

Observations were made in the laboratory on the feeding behaviour of small shoals of captive juvenile herring (Clupea harengus) using Artemia sp. nauplii as food. The fish used two methods of feeding. The first, filter-feeding, was only used at concentrations exceeding approximately 50 nauplii l-1. Filter-feeding rapidly gave way to particulate-feeding (biting and gulping) as concentrations declined, and biting was the only method used when concentrations were < 50 nauplii l-1. There was a positive correlation between particle concentration and feeding acts of both types. Particle concentrations declined exponentially throughout experiments, indicating that a constant proportion was being removed during an experiment. This proportion was inversely related to the initial concentration.

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Communicated by J. Mauchline, Oban

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Gibson, R.N., Ezzi, I.A. Effect of particle concentration on filter- and particulate-feeding in the herring Clupea harengus . Mar. Biol. 88, 109–116 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00397157

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00397157

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