Distribution and diet of juvenile Patagonian toothfish on the South Georgia and Shag Rocks shelves (Southern Ocean)

Collins, Martin A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7132-8650; Ross, Katherine A.; Belchier, Mark; Reid, Keith. 2007 Distribution and diet of juvenile Patagonian toothfish on the South Georgia and Shag Rocks shelves (Southern Ocean). Marine Biology, 152 (1). 135-147. 10.1007/s00227-007-0667-3

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Abstract/Summary

The distribution and diet of juvenile (<750 mm) Patagonian toothfish are described from 4 annual trawl surveys (2003-06) around the island of South Georgia in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean. Recruitment of toothfish varies inter-annually, and a single large cohort dominated during the four years surveyed. Most juveniles were caught on the Shag Rocks shelf to the NW of South Georgia, with fish subsequently dispersing to deeper water around both the South Georgia and Shag Rocks shelves. Mean size of juvenile toothfish increased with depth of capture. Stomach contents analysis was conducted on 795 fish that contained food remains and revealed that juvenile toothfish are essentially piscivorous, with the diet dominated by notothenid fish. The yellow-finned notothen, Patagonotothen guntheri, was the dominant prey at Shag Rocks whilst at South Georgia, where P. guntheri is absent, the dominant prey were Antarctic krill and notothenid fish. The diet changed with size, with an increase in myctophid fish and krill as toothfish grow and disperse. The size of prey also increased with fish size, with a greater range of prey sizes consumed by larger fish.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1007/s00227-007-0667-3
Programmes:	BAS Programmes > Global Science in the Antarctic Context (2005-2009) > DISCOVERY 2010 - Integrating Southern Ocean Ecosystems into the Earth System
ISSN:	0025-3162
Format Availability:	Electronic, Print
Additional Keywords:	Fish, Dissostichus eleginoides
NORA Subject Terms:	Marine Sciences Zoology
Date made live:	15 Aug 2007 15:32 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/774

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