Trophic Ecology of Alaska Plaice Pleuronectes quadrituberculatus (Pleuronectidae) in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea

Abstract

The article contains the results of autecological studies of the Alaska plaice Pleuronectes quadrituberculatus in the Far East seas. It was found that its main food resources in different parts of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea are worms and bivalves, while the proportion of other species is insignificant. All these worms and bivalves are the species of benthic infauna and onfauna. The trophic level is in the range from 3.39 to 4.13; its variability depends on the proportion of bivalves and polychaetes. We described the environmental conditions of the habitat of Alaska plaice: depth, temperature, and preferred types of soil. The adaptation of Alaska plaice to certain soil structure provides camouflage and easier access of food resources. Relatively nonselective consumption of polychaetes and bivalves provides A wider range of habitats.