(Godfrey 1979), more near to or into the intertidal 

 zone as the tide rose. My one observation of a forag- 

 ing cormorant found it poking its head into the 

 hollows under rocks. This searching pattern, and the 

 paucity of other fish in the area, suggests that the 

 birds were hunting cunners. Though I have not 

 demonstrated that the double-crested cormorant is a 

 predator of cunners, it is of some interest to note that 

 the closely related European cormorant, Phalac- 

 rocorax carbo, forages successfully on labrids similar 

 to the cunner in habits and habitat preference 

 (Steven 1933; Dipper et al. 1977). 



In making the movement from the subtidal area to 

 the intertidal zone, the cunners expend energy and 

 may face an increased predation threat (Olla et al. 

 1979). Presumably the advantage gained by having 

 access to the rich intertidal food supply (Table 2) 

 offsets the costs and risks. In this study, intertidal 

 cunners were observed striking at mussels, bar- 

 nacles, and littorinids, items which are important 

 components of the cunners' diet in other sites (Olla et 

 al. 1975; Shumway and Stickney 1975). The cunners 

 may be driven to the intertidal resources by a short- 

 age of food in the subtidal area. The mussels, bar- 

 nacles, and littorinids common in the intertidal area 

 were not found (mussels and barnacles) , or appeared 

 rare (littorinids), subtidally. However, alternative 

 prey may have been present and used. Conversely 

 the high density of food items might permit more effi- 

 cient foraging and make the intertidal area quite at- 

 tractive to cunners. In this case a lack of suitable 

 refuges might limit the numbers of individuals able to 

 forage intertidally. 



Access to the intertidal food supply is limited to 

 high tide and daylight hours (Olla et al. 1975; Dew 

 1976). Based on initial refuge occupancy and final 

 abandonment times, cunners could forage for about 

 169 min before retreating. While I know each refuge 

 was occupied during high tide, I have no evidence of 

 recurring use of a given refuge by an individual on 

 more than one tide. Hobson (1972) found low 

 specificity to nocturnal refuges in tropical labrids, 

 but Olla et al. (1975, 1979) demonstrated a high 

 specificity to subtidal home shelters in the cunner. 

 Determining whether individual fish are specific to 

 the intertidal refuges would contribute greatly to an 

 understanding of the system. 



W. Linn Montgomery and P. Magnan. Criticisms of 

 A. Bejda and two journal referees greatly improved 

 the quality of the final product. Michele Carignan 

 typed the text. 



LITERATURE CITED 



BlGELOW, H. B.. AND W. C. SCHROEDER. 



1953. Fishes of the Gulf of Maine. U.S. Fish Wildl. 

 Serv., Fish. Bull. 53, 577 p. 

 Dew, C. B. 



1976. A contribution to the life history of the cunner, 

 Tautogolabrus adspersus, in Fishers Island Sound, Con- 

 necticut. Chesapeake Sci. 17:101-113. 



Dipper, F. A., C. R. Bridges, and A. Menz. 



1977. Age. growth and feeding in the ballan wrasse 

 Labrus bergylta Ascanius 1767. J. Fish Biol. 11:105- 

 120. 



Godfrey, W. E. 



1979. The birds of Canada. Natl. Mus. Can., 428 p. 

 Hobson, E. S. 



1972. Activity of Hawaiian reef fishes during the evening 

 and morning transitions between daylight and dark- 

 ness. Fish. Bull., U.S. 70:715-740. 

 Hobson, E. S., W. N. McFarland, and J. R. Chess. 



1981. Crepuscular and nocturnal activities of California 

 nearshore fishes, with consideration of their scotopic 

 visual pigments and the photic environment. Fish. Bull., 

 U.S. 79:1-30. 

 Olla, B. L., A. J. Bejda, and A. D. Martin. 



1975. Activity, movements, and feeding behavior of the 

 cunner, Tautogolabrus adspersus, and comparison of food 

 habits with young tautogs, Tautoga onitis, off Long Island, 

 New York. Fish. Bull., U.S. 73:895-900. 



1979. Seasonal dispersal and habitat selection of the 

 cunner, Tautogolabrus adspersus, and young tautog, 

 Tautoga onitis, in Fire Island Inlet, Long Island, New 

 York. Fish. Bull., U.S. 77:255-261. 

 Shumway, S. E., and R. R. Stickney. 



1975. Notes on the biology and food habits of the cunner. 

 N.Y. Fish Game J. 22:71-79. 

 Steven, G. A. 



1933. The food consumed by Shags and Cormorants around 

 the shores of Cornwall (England). J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. 

 U.K. 19:277-292. 



F. G. Whoriskey, Jr. 



Departement de Biologie 



Universite Laval 



Ste-Foy, Quebec, Canada GlK 7P4 



Acknowledgments 



J. Whoriskey accompanied me during the scuba ob- 

 servations. G. FitzGerald provided helpful criticism 

 and advice throughout the preparation of the manu- 

 script. A later draft benefited from the comments of 



428 



