Feeding and energetics of
Pacific macrourid fishes
Jeff Drazen, Ph.D.
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Friday, June 28, 2002
12:00 Noon–Pacific Forum
Macrourids (also known as rattails or grenadiers)
are very common and abundant deep-sea fishes. Over 300 species are
entirely deep living, inhabiting depths from 200 to 6000 meters throughout
the world’s oceans. The majority of species are benthopelagic, swimming
in the water column just over the sea floor. Many species are large (~0.5
to 1 meter) and considering their abundance, macrourids are important apex
predators in the deep-sea environment. Despite their potentially important
role, almost nothing is known of their feeding ecology beyond the basic
diet composition of several species. Their diversity and widespread
occurrence also make them good subjects for examining energetic strategies
in the food-poor deep sea.
The
talk will discuss the diet of several species of macrourids and their role
as scavengers in the deep sea. Temporal patterns in feeding and energetics
and an energetic model used to calculate feeding rates and investigate
energetic adaptations will also be presented.
