Predator-prey size relationship in siphon cropping between the juvenile stone flounder Platichthys bicoloratus and the bivalve Nuttallia olivacea

Abstract

The purpose of the present paper was to examine the size relationship between the juvenile stone flounder Platichthys bicoloratus and the bivalve Nuttallia olivacea, the siphon of which is important prey for the juvenile flounder. Juvenile stone flounder feed mainly on tips of the inhalant siphon of the bivalve. The maximum width of siphon tips in the stomach contents of age-0 fish could not reach that of age-1 fish, although the siphons in age-0 fish became larger as they grew. This size discrepancy indicated a limitation in the size of bivalves available to juveniles. The proportion of total cropping frequency for the siphon of the bivalve by juveniles was estimated according to the bivalve size class. Most bivalves that had cropped siphon tips ranged from 5 to 30 mm in shell length. The total cropping frequency per bivalve was particularly intense on bivalves of 10-25 mm shell length in spite of their small proportion of 24.9% of the total. This frequency intensity indicated that the size of bivalves with cropped siphons by juvenile stone flounder might depend on the ability of juveniles rather than the size composition of the bivalves.