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- Title
Proximate composition and energy content of forage species from the Bay of Biscay: high- or low-quality food?
- Authors
Spitz, Jérôme; Mourocq, Emeline; Schoen, Valérie; Ridoux, Vincent
- Abstract
Spitz, J., Mourocq, E., Schoen, V., and Ridoux, V. 2010. Proximate composition and energy content of forage species from the Bay of Biscay: high- or low-quality food? – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 67: 909–915.Collapses of high-energy dense concentrations of prey species induce negative effects on populations of top predators. Knowledge of prey quality appears to be crucial in ecosystem modelling and management. The aim here was to provide baseline data of forage species quality in the Bay of Biscay. Proximate composition (water, ash, protein, and lipid) and energy content have been determined to assess the quality of 78 species, including jellyfish, crustaceans, cephalopods, cartilaginous fish, and bony fish. Results show broad variations between species, with energy densities ranging from 2 to 10 kJ g−1. Lipids are the most structuring component and largely determined prey quality, and prey species are not necessarily interchangeable for the fulfilment of a predator's energy and food requirements. In ecosystem models, therefore, multispecies compartments of forage organisms would ideally be constituted using prey species of equivalent quality and hence of equivalent benefit to top predators.
- Subjects
BAY of Biscay (France &; Spain); PREDATORY animals; JELLYFISHES; MARINE ecology; MARINE ecological regions; FISHERY management
- Publication
ICES Journal of Marine Science / Journal du Conseil, 2010, Vol 67, Issue 5, p909
- ISSN
1054-3139
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/icesjms/fsq008