Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-r5zm4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-25T00:56:27.218Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Developmental changes in the opacity of larval herring, Clupea harengus, and their implications for vulnerability to predation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

J. R. M. Langsdale
J. R. M. Langsdale
Affiliation:
SOAFD Marine Laboratory, PO Box 101, Victoria Road, Aberdeen, AB9 8DB
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

The relative contributions of the eye, pigmentation (melanophores), and gut contents to the lateral body areas of herring larvae, Clupea harengus L., were measured using a combination of photography and computer image analysis. There was a power relationship between body area and body length (exponent 2.62) which was similar to that of the eye area (exponent 2.57) whereas the pigmented area increased at a greater rate (exponent 4.41). The area of the full gut relative to body length increased at an intermediate rate (exponent 3.04). Melanophores dilated under the effects of anaesthetic, increasing the projected pigment area of herring larvae by an average of 94% after 10 minutes of anaesthesia. These results are discussed in relation to the vulnerability of herring larvae to visual predation.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 73 , Issue 1 , February 1993 , pp. 225 - 232
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1993

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bailey, K. M. & Houde, E. D., 1989. Predation on eggs and larvae of marine fishes and the recruitment problem. Advances in Marine Biology, 25, 1–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blaxter, J. H. S., 1968. Rearing herring larvae to metamorphosis and beyond. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 48, 17–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blaxter, J. H. S. & Jones, M.P., 1967. The development of the retina and retinomotor responses in the herring. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 47, 677–697.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bohl, E., 1982. Food supply and prey selection in planktivorous Cyprinidae. Oecologia, Berlin, 53, 134–138.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brownell, C. L., 1985. Laboratory analysis of cannibalism by larvae of the Cape anchovy Engraulis capensis. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, 114, 512–518.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Denton, E. J. & Nicol, J. A. C., 1965. Reflexion of light by external surfaces of the herring, Clupea harengus. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 45, 711–738.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doyle, M. J., 1977. A morphological staging system for the larval development of the herring, Clupea harengus L. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 57, 859–867.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunn, J. R. & Vinter, B. M., 1984. Development of larvae of the saffron cod, Eleginus gracilis, with comments on the identification of gadid larvae in Pacific and Arctic waters contiguous to Canada and Alaska. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 41, 304–318.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Folkvord, A. & Hunter, J. R., 1986. Size-specific vulnerability of northern anchovy, Engraulis mordax, larvae to predation by fishes. Fishery Bulletin. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Washington, DC, 84, 859–869.Google Scholar
Giguere, L. A. & Northcote, T. G., 1987. Ingested prey increase the risks of visual predation in transparent Chaoborus larvae. Oceologia, Berlin, 73, 48–52.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hawkins, A. D., 1981. The hearing abilities of fish. In Hearing and sound communication in fishes (ed. Tavolga, W. N.et al.), pp. 109–137. New York: Springer Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kundiyev, V. A., 1984. Peculiarities of pigmentation and morphology offish larvae from the middle Dnieper. Hydrobiological Journal, 20 (2), 102.Google Scholar
Nicol, J. A. C., 1989. The eyes of fishes, pp. 227–241. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
O'brien, W. J., Slade, N. A. & Vinyard, G. L., 1976. Apparent size as the determinant of prey selection by bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus). Ecology, 57, 1304–1310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olney, J. E. & Sedberry, G.R., 1983. Dragonet larvae (Teleostei, Callionymidae) in continental shelf waters off the eastern United States. Biological Oceanography, 3, 103–122.Google Scholar
Russell, F. S., 1976. Theeggs andplanktonic stages of British marine fishes, pp. 22–29. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar