Feeding and energetics of
Pacific macrourid fishes

Jeff Drazen, Ph.D.
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

Friday, September 20, 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.