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.

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