Abstract
The food and feeding habits of the herring Clupea harengus L. and the sprat C. sprattus (L.) as 0-group and older fish in inshore waters of the west coast of Scotland, were studied from April, 1970 to March, 1972. The two species occurred together. The diets of 0-group herring and sprats are almost identical, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Their daily feeding rhythms also coincide. It is probable that competition between these two species in their first year of life could occur if the food supply is limiting. Changes in diet between 0-group and older fish are more pronounced in herring than in sprats. The diet itself is mainly crustacean in both clupeids, with copepods contributing the major share.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Bhattacharya, R. N.: The food and feeding habits of larval and post-larval herring in the northern North Sea. Mar. Res. 3, 1–14 (1957).
Blaxter, J. H. S.: Light: fishes. In: Marine ecology, Vol. 1. Pt. 1. pp 213–320. Ed. by O. Kinne. London: Wiley Interscience 1970.
Bowers, A. B. and D. I. Williamson: Food of larval and early post-larval stages of autumn-spawned herring in Manx waters. Rep. mar. biol. Stn Port Erin 63, 17–27 (1950).
Cushing, D. H.: Biological and hydrographic changes in British Seas during the last thirty years. Biol. Rev. 41, 221–258 (1966).
— and A. C. Burd: On the herring of the southern North Sea. Fishery Invest., Lond. (Ser. 2) 20, 1–31 (1957).
De Silva, S. S.: Clupeid population of inshore waters of the West Coast of Scotland. Ph. D. Thesis, 122 pp. University of Stirling, Scotland 1973.
Gause, G. F.: The struggle for existence, 163 pp. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1971. (First published 1934 by Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore).
Gibson, R. N.: The food and feeding relationship of littoral fish in the Banyuls region. Vie Milieu (A) 19, 447–456 (1968).
—: The vertical distribution and feeding relationships of intertidal fish on the Atlantic coast of France. J. Anim. Ecol. 41, 189–207 (1972).
Gulland, J. A.: Ecological aspects of fishery research. Adv. ecol. Res. 7, 115–176 (1971).
Hardy, A. C.: The herring in relation to its animate environment. Part I. The food and feeding habits of the herring with special reference to the east coast of England. Fishery Invest., Lond. (Ser. 2) 7, 1–53 (1924).
Hartley, P. H. T.: Food and feeding relationships in a community of freshwater fishes. J. Anim. Ecol. 17, 1–14 (1948).
Hynes, H. B. N.: The food of freshwater sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus and Pygosteus pungitius) with a review of methods used in studies of the food of fishes. J. Anim. Ecol. 19, 36–58 (1950).
Jesperson, P.: Investigations on the food of the herring in Danish waters. Meddr Kommn Havunders. (Ser. Plankton) 2, 1–50 (1928).
Kazanova, I. I.: The biology and the fishery of the sprat in the northern part of the Baltic. Trud y vses. nauchno-issled. Inst. morsk. r y. Khoz. Okeanogr. 42, 84–98 (1960).
Keast, A.: Food specialisation and bioenergetic interrelations in the faunas of some small Ontario waterways. In: Marine food chains, pp 377–410. Ed. by J. H. Steele. Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd 1970.
Lack, D.: The ecology of closely related species with special reference to cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) and shag (P. aristotelis). J. Anim. Ecol. 14, 12–16 (1945).
Larkin, P. A.: Interspecific competition and population control in freshwater fish. J. Fish. Res. Bd Can. 13, 327–342 (1956).
Lebour, M. V.: The food of young clupeoids. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 12, 458–467 (1921).
—: The food of young herring. J. mar. biol. U.K. 13, 325–330 (1924).
Lissner, H.: Die Nahrungsaufnahme beim Hering. Ber. dt. wiss. Kommn Meeresforsch. 1, 199–208 (1925).
Marshall, S. M., A. G. Nicholls and A. P. Orr: On the growth and feeding of the larval and post-larval stages of the Clyde herring. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 22, 245–267 (1937).
—: On the growth and feeding of young herring in the Clyde. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 23, 427–455 (1939).
Murphy, G. I.: Population biology of the Pacific sardine (Sardinops caerulea). Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 34, 1–84 (1966).
Mužinić, S.: Der Rhythmus der Nahrungsaufnahme beim Hering. Ber. dt. wiss. Kommn Meeresforsch. 6, 62–64 (1931).
Savage, R. E.: The relation between the feeding of the herring off the east coast of England and the plankton of the surrounding waters. Fishery Invest., Lond. (Ser. 2) 12, 1–88 (1931).
—: The food of North Sea herring, 1930–1934. Fishery Invest., Lond. (Ser. 2) 15, 1–60 (1937).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by J. H. S. Blaxter, Oban
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
De Silva, S.S. Food and feeding habits of the herring Clupea harengus and the sprat C. sprattus in inshore waters of the west coast of Scotland. Marine Biology 20, 282–290 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00354272
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00354272