Food habits of some immature fish in Minas Basin, Nova Scotia

High turbidity, reduced visibility and low plankton density observed in the Minas Basin of the Bay of Fundy prompted an investigation of the food habits of juvenile and larval fish. Eleven species of juvenile fish were collected by beach seining from July-November 1978. Larval Alosa spp. were obtained in plankton hauls taken from May-July 1978. Juveniles of Liopsetta putnamt (smooth flounder), Osmerus mordax (American smelt), Mentdta menidia (Atlantic silverside) and Gasterosteus wheatlandi (blackspotted stickleback) were relatively common. Larval fish apparently fed primarily upon diatoms and planktonic crustaceans. In comparison, benthic invertebrates were major dietary components of both juvenile Atlantic silversides and smooth flounders, while copepods were abundant in American smelts and blackspotted sticklebacks. The results of this study indicate that the common species in the basin are trophically segregated.