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In-Depth Information
Figure 5.16
(a) Concentrations of
chlorophyll in the guts of mackerel
larvae, normalised by larval weight.
(b) The proportion of gut contents
made up by copepod eggs. (c) The
proportion of gut contents made up
by copepod nauplii. From Conway,
et al.,
1999
, with permission from
Vie et Milieu.
(a)
80
60
40
20
0
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Larval length (mm)
(b)
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
2
3
45678
9
Larval length (mm)
(c)
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
2
3
45678
9
Larval length (mm)
identifiable. However, it is recognised that first-feeding fish larvae will need food
particles
m(Cushing,
1995
), so the larval food will be made up of eukaryotic
phytoplankton. We will discuss the relation of these dietary requirements to
oceanographic conditions in
Chapter 10
.
>
5
m
5.2.3
Finding prey in a viscous environment
A fascinating aspect of the heterotrophs is how planktonic predators find and catch
their prey in the ocean. The problems posed by locomotion through water, the
detection, tracking and grabbing hold of prey items has led to the evolution of a
remarkable diversity of mechanisms and foraging strategies amongst the plankton
(see Kiørboe
2008
for an illuminating analysis of planktonic life in a viscous
environment).
As we are terrestrial organisms it is difficult for us to fully appreciate the challenges
presented to tiny organisms living in the sea. The basic problem which plankton face
is that
their world is dominated by viscosity: almost all of
the planktonic
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