[Feeding ecology of Amblychaeturichthys hexanema in Jiaozhou Bay, China]

From February to November 2011, four seasonal bottom trawl surveys were conducted in the Jiaozhou Bay of China. A total of 624 Amblychaeturichthys hexanema individuals were collected to analyze their stomach contents, with the feeding ecology of A. hexanema studied. The prey items of A. hexanema included more than 40 species, among which, Alpheus japonicas, Philine kinglippini, and Leptochela gracilis were the dominant prey species. The diet composition of A. hexanema had an obvious seasonal variation, with the gastropods, fish, decapods, and microcrustacean being the most important prey items in spring, summer, autumn, and winter, respectively. This phenomenon could be mainly related to the seasonal variations in the species and biomass of the preys in Jiaozhou Bay. With the increase of predator size, the prey species of A. hexanema varied from small size copepod to larger sizes P. kinglippini, Raphidopus ciliates, and A. japonicas. The canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed that water temperature and salinity were the most important factors affecting the feeding of A. hexanema, followed by predator size and water pH.