Publication Abstract

La relation alimentation-fixation benthique chez les jeunes soles Solea solea L. métamorphosées. Evidences expérimentales

C. Macquart-Moulin, G. Champalbert, B.R. Howell, G. Patriti and C. Ranaivoson

The effect of quality and quantity of the food supply on the settlement of newly metamorphosed soles was studied by automatically recording pelagic swimming activity in vertical tanks. Without food and under normal daylight conditions both fasting and well-fed young soles showed a constant nocturnal pelagic swimming activity and no pelagic swimming during the day. The presence of live benthic food (small polychaetes) or a large amount of living Artemia nauplii induce a rapid reduction and a complete cessation of swimming activity for several days. Offering small amounts of Artemia during the day stimulated immediate pelagic swimming of the young fish. Offering dead prey, fresh or frozen, did not consistently alter swimming behaviour. Young soles reared from eggs in a hatchery showed the same behaviour as young soles collected from the sea. The observed effect of food supply on pelagic swimming behaviour may have important consequences for the ecology of settling newly metamorphosed young soles: when a proper food supply is available on the bottom the fish will remain benthic and settle more or less permanently. When the benthic food supply is insufficient or inadequate, the nocturnal pelagic swimming behaviour of the fish will lead to transportation of the population during the night, followed by testing of the benthic food supply during the day. Thus, the newly metamorphosed fish will accumulate in areas with a proper benthic food supply.

Reference:

C. Macquart-Moulin, G. Champalbert, B.R. Howell, 1991. G. Patriti and C. Ranaivoson, La relation alimentation-fixation benthique chez les jeunes soles Solea solea L. métamorphosées. Evidences expérimentales. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 153: 195-205.