Abstract
The feeding characteristics of rosefish Helicolenus mouchezi, pelagic armourhead Pentaceros richardsoni, and the Cape bonnetmouth Emmelichthys nitidus nitidus inhabiting the Valdivia Seamount (central part of the Walvis Ridge) have been studied. In the daytime, these fish form schoolings at the top of an underwater rise; the organisms of the macroplankton, pyrosome Pyrosoma atlanticum and the appendicular Fritillaria sp., form the basis of their food spectra. These macroplankton species descend down to the sea bottom during the diel vertical migration of organisms that form the sound scattering layers. Bottom organisms are found in small numbers in the food spectrum of rosefish only. At night, when the organisms of the sound scattering layers migrate to the surface, the schoolings of the studied fish species at the summit of the seamount disintegrate, their feeding intensity decreases, or they stop feeding at all.
Published Version
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