Prey recognition in stomachs of cannibalistic juvenile cod (Gadus MorhuaL.)

A series of experiments were undertaken to determine how long a cod (Gadus morhua L.) prey could be recognized in the stomach of a cannibalistic cod. Three-day old cod larvae were recognized 15-90 min whereas 6 cm cod could be confidently identified up to 8–9 hours after ingestion, based on external morphological features. The prey dissolved at different rates depending on subsequent feeding of the cannibalistic cad, with the digestion of cod larvae being more rapid when no additional food was offered. The rapid digestion of early cod larvae limit the feasibility of quantifying cannibalism from stomach contents of cod.