The benthic ecology of Loch Linnhe and Loch Eil, a sea-loch system on the west coast of Scotland. V. Biology of the dominant soft-bottom epifauna and their interaction with the infauna

Abstract The distribution of epifaunal organisms is related to the relative organic enrichment of sediments before and after pollution of the Loch Linnhe-Eil system by pulp- and paper-mill effluent. The diet of six abundant epifaunal invertebrate predators and the dominant fish Gadus morhua in the lochs is presented and related to the distribution of their infaunal prey along a gradient of organic enrichment within the system. It is concluded that under normal conditions predators exploit differing prey spectra but that, as organic enrichment increases, their diets converge on the increasingly predominant polychaete worms.

[1]  W. B. Scott,et al.  Fishes of the Atlantic Coast of Canada , 1966 .

[2]  T. Pearson.  The benthic ecology of Loch Linnhe and Loch Eil, a sea-loch system on the west coast of Scotland. III. The effect on the benthic fauna of the introduction of pulp mill effluent , 1971 .

[3]  J. Sargent,et al.  Partial characterization of organic material in surface sediments from Balsfjorden, northern Norway, in relation to its origin and nutritional value for sediment-ingesting animals , 1983 .

[4]  R. Rosenberg,et al.  Macrobenthic succession in relation to organic enrichment and pollution of the marine environment , 1978 .

[5]  H. Feder.  Aspects of the feeding biology of the brittle star Ophiura texturata , 1981 .

[6]  S. Jewett,et al.  Autumn food of adult starry flounders, Platichthys stellatus, from the northeastern Bering Sea and the southeastern Chukchi Sea , 1980 .

[7]  F. T. Banner,et al.  The effect of coastal hydrodynamics on the echinoderm distribution in the sublittoral of Oxwich Bay, Bristol Channel , 1977 .

[8]  B. Scherer,et al.  Significant predation on micro- and macrobenthos by the crab Carcinus maenas L. in the Wadden Sea , 1981 .

[9]  A. Ritchie.  The food and feeding habits of the haddock (Gadus aeglefinus) in Scottish waters. , 1937 .

[10]  R. Rosenberg,et al.  Food selection and consumption of the shrimp Crangon crangon in some shallow marine areas in western Sweden , 1984 .

[11]  D. Moriarty.  Quantitative studies on bacteria and algae in the food of the mullet Mugil cephalus L. and the prawn Metapenaeus bennettae (Racek & Dall) , 1976 .

[12]  A. J. Paul,et al.  FOOD OF THE SNOW CRAB, CHIONOECETES BAIRDI RATHBUN, 1924, FROM COOK INLET, ALASKA (DECAPODA, MAJIDAE) , 1979 .

[13]  B. Jørgensen,et al.  Detritus Food Chains of Aquatic Ecosystems: The Role of Bacteria , 1977 .

[14]  S. Jewett,et al.  FOOD OF THE TANNER CRAB CHIONOECETES BAIRDI NEAR KODIAK ISLAND, ALASKA , 1983 .

[15]  Signe H. Skjæveland.  Ecology Of Echinoderms In Borgenfjorden, North-Trøndelag, Norway , 1973 .

[16]  C. Yonge,et al.  The Biology of Crangon Vulgaris L. in the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary , 1947, Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.

[17]  H. P. Jeffries,et al.  FEEDING HABITS OF THE SAND SHRIMP CRANGON SEPTEMSPINOSA , 1974 .

[18]  T. Pearson.  The benthic ecology of Loch Linnhe and loch eil, a sea-loch system on the west coast of Scotland. I. The physical environment and distribution of the macrobenthic fauna , 1970 .

[19]  T. Pearson.  The benthic ecology of Loch Linnhe and Loch Eil, a sea-loch system on the west coast of scotland. IV. Changes in the benthic fauna attributable to organic enrichment , 1975 .

[20]  P. Tyler.  Seasonal variation and ecology of gametogenesis in the genus Ophiura (Ophiuroidea: Echinodermata) from the bristol channel , 1977 .

[21]  T. Pearson.  The loch eil project: introduction and rationale , 1981 .

[22]  R. Elner.  Diet of green crab Carcinus maenas (L.) from Port Hebert, southwestern Nova Scotia. , 1981 .

[23]  N. Daan.  A quantitative analysis of the food intake of North Sea cod, Gadus Morhua , 1973 .

[24]  S. Stanley,et al.  Renewal and Entrainment in Loch Eil; A Periodically Ventilated Scottish Fjord , 1980 .

[25]  A. Hawkins,et al.  Growth and feeding of juvenile cod (Gadus morhua L.) , 1985 .

[26]  R. Wahle.  The Feeding Ecology of Crangon Franciscorum and Crangon Nigricauda in San Francisco Bay, California , 1985 .

[27]  T. Pearson,et al.  The Loch Eil project: Population fluctuations in the macrobenthos , 1981 .

[28]  G. Thorson.  Some factors influencing the recruitment and establishment of marine benthic communities , 1966 .

[29]  K. S. Price.  Biology of the sand shrimp, Crangon septemspinosa , in the shore zone of the Delaware Bay region , 1962 .

[30]  T. Pearson.  The loch eil project: Assessment and synthesis with a discussion of certain biological questions arising from a study of the organic pollution of sediments , 1982 .

[31]  J. A. Allen.  On the biology of Crangon allmani Kinahan in Northumberland Waters , 1960, Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.

[32]  H. Feder,et al.  Food of Pandalus borealis, Pandalus hypsinotus and Pandalus goniurus (Pandalidae, Decapoda) from Lower Cook Inlet, Alaska. , 1980 .

[33]  M. Armstrong.  The predator-prey relationships of Irish Sea poor-cod (Trisopterus minutus L.), pouting (Trisopterus luscus L.) and cod (Gadus morhua L.) , 1982 .

[34]  R. A. Todd.  Second report on the food of fishes (North Sea, 1904-1905) , 1907 .

[35]  L. Kofoed.  The feeding biology of Hydrobia ventrosa (Montagu). II. Allocation of the components of the carbon-budget and the significance of the secretion of dissolved organic material , 1975 .