Feeding Ecology of Sillago japonica in an Eelgrass (Zostera marina) Bed

Feeding Ecology of Sillago japonica in an Eelgrass (Zostera marina) Bed

Feeding habits of Sillago japonica collected from in an eelgrass (Zostera marina) bed in Jindong Bay, Korea were studied. S. japonica was a carnivore which consumed mainly gammarid amphipods, polychaetes, bivalves, caridean shrimps and crabs. Its diets also included a small amount of fishes, copepods and caprellid amphipods. The diet of S. japonica underwent significant size-related changes; small individuals (<5cm SL) fed mainly on gammarid amphipods and crab larvae, while proportion of polychaetes and bivalves increased with increasing fish size and gammarid amphipods were also important prey for medium size individuals (5.1-9.9cm SL). The large individuals (>10cm SL) ate polychaetes, caridean shrimps and crabs. The dietary breadth of S. japonica were varied with size. The diet of S. japonica also underwent seasonal changes that could be related to differences in prey availability; gammarid amphipods were mainly consumed in spring and polychaetes in summer.