Comparative Feeding Ecology of a Kelp-Bed Embiotocid (Embiotoca lateralis)

The diet and feeding morphology of the striped seaperch (Embiotoca lateralis) was studied in kelp-bed areas at Santa Cruz Island and the adjacent mainland off Santa Barbara, California. Fish from the island kelp-beds included more kinds of prey items in their diets and, in general, fed on larger prey items than did the mainland fish. Fish from the mainland contained much greater amounts of non-food material in the guts, indicating a more indiscriminate type of foraging behavior. Island fish had proportionately larger heads and mouths; however, several other morphological characters presumably unrelated to feeding ecology did not differ between the two populations. The differences in feeding ecology between mainland and island fish seem most likely attributable to differences in the density of food resources between the two areas.