Preliminary Studies of Food Habits of Juvenile Fish, China Poot Marsh and Potter Marsh, Alaska, 1978

Abstract

During the year 1978, juvenile salmonids were collected from coastal streams running through China Poot Marsh and the stomach contents analyzed. Stomach contents of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and staghorn sculpin (Leptocottus armatus) from China Poot and of threespine stickleback from Potter Marsh were also analyzed; these two species were generally caught in tidal pools on the marshes. The juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) had the most varied diet; 37 different prey items were identified in the stomachs. By comparison, 25, 26, and 33 prey taxa were identified in the stomach contents of Dolly Varden char (Salvelinus malma), threespine stickleback, and staghorn sculpin, respectively. Amphipods were the dominant prey of all fish collected from China Poot Marsh; chironomidae larvae were the most common item in the stomach contents of threespine stickleback from Potter Marsh. The diets of all species changed over the course of the study period; the change was most dramatic for juvenile salmonids and sculpins.