Food Selectivity in Juvenile Three-Spined Stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus L. (Gasterosteidae) at Nursery Grounds in the White Sea

Abstract

The spatial and temporal variability in the dietary preferences of juvenile three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus were studied across the typical coastal habitats of Keret Archipelago, Kandalaksha Bay(the White Sea). The sampling of fish using a beach seine was conducted in the late July–early August period and in late August. Additionally, zooplankton samples were collected to conduct a quantitative assessment of the abundance of potential prey items. The similarity percentage (SIMPER) analysis was applied to the data obtained from the stomach content and revealed the five planktonic taxa most prominently contributing to the diet of juvenile sticklebacks. Among these, the copepod Temora longicornis was the most important prey item at marine sites, while Acartia longiremis dominated the diet of fish in the marine lagoon. The calculation of the selectivity index revealed that some taxa (such as A. longiremis) were always avoided by juvenile fish, whereas the selectivity of some taxa increased in late August. In general, juvenile sticklebacks demonstrated a pronounced individual variation in their selectivity, even when a particular prey item was selected positively during the whole period of study. Our data highlight that despite the predominant consumption of easily available prey by juvenile sticklebacks, they demonstrate taxonomic- and size-specific prey selectivity.