Palaemon elegans Rathke, 1837 in the food of Baltic cod (Gadus morhua callarias L., 1758) from the Gulf of Gdańsk

Abstract

Analysis of stomach contents of 52 cod (Gadus morhua callarias) individuals (TL 37.0–58.0 cm) caught in November 2003 in the coastal waters of the Gulf of Gdańsk showed the presence of the prawn Palaemon elegans, a malacostracan species that has been recently reported as abundant in various parts of the Baltic Sea. This is the first observation of P. elegans as a cod food item in the Baltic Sea. The prawns were found in 88.5% of the stomachs analysed, accounting for 17% and almost 7% of food weight of cod <45.0 cm and ≥45.0 cm, respectively. The prawns consumed by the cod measured from 20 to 48 mm (average±SD: 31.7±5.3 mm), the prawn length increasing slightly with the cod length. Although P. elegans seems to be the most important invertebrate food item, diet in the cod was still dominated by fish. Neogobius melanostomus and Zoarces viviparus were the most important fish species found in the cod stomachs examined. In addition, the contents of some of the cod stomachs featured other malacostracan species, mainly Crangon crangon, as well as other invertebrates; however, these were of lesser importance. The significance of P. elegans as food of the cod fished commercially in the coastal waters of the Gulf of Gdańsk in comparison with other species preyed upon by cod there is discussed.

Keywords:

• Baltic Sea
• cod
• food
• Gulf of Gdańsk
• Paleamon elegans

Published in collaboration with the University of Bergen and the Institute of Marine Research, Norway, and the Marine Biological Laboratory, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Published in collaboration with the University of Bergen and the Institute of Marine Research, Norway, and the Marine Biological Laboratory, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Acknowledgements

We would like to express our thanks to Dr T. Radziejewska and the two anonymous reviewers for their comments and help with improving of the manuscript. We are also grateful to Mr M. Więcaszek for his technical support.

Notes

Published in collaboration with the University of Bergen and the Institute of Marine Research, Norway, and the Marine Biological Laboratory, University of Copenhagen, Denmark