FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 74, NO, 3 



taken before midnight had their intestines empty; 

 this, considering also the inactive appearance of 

 those in diurnal schools, suggests lack of daytime 

 feeding. Quast (1968) reported a high incidence of 

 empty stomachs in specimens that he collected 

 during the day, but did not relate this to nocturnal 

 feeding. 



All food material in the guts of specimens 

 collected during this study are organisms that 

 occured in the water column. Major categories of 

 prey, which included species and species groups, 

 are listed below in order of their rank as prey. 



1. GAMMARIDEAN AMPHIPODS (100: 44.8: 38.2) 



Bafea transversa (100: 26.0: 30.0); Ampithoe phimulosa (20: 

 5.2: 3.0); Encthonias braziliensis (20: 2.0: 1.0); lysianassid spp. 

 (20: 0.2: 0.4); Gitannpsis vilordes (20: 0.2: 0.2); Ampithoe spp. 

 (20: 4.0: 1.0); unidentified species (60: 7.2: 2.6). 



2. MYSIDS (100: 22.0: 28.0) 



Siriella pacifiica (100: 20.2: 26.8); erythropinid sp. (60: 1.8: 

 1.2). 



3. POLYCHAETES. SWIMMING (40: ?: 20.0) 



unidentified species, mostly epitokus nereids. 



4. CUMACEANS (60: 2.0: 2.6) " 



Cijclaspis nuhila (60: 1.6: 2.2); unidentified juveniles (20: 0.4: 

 0.4). 



5. CAPRELLID AMPHIPODS (40: 5.6: 3.0) 



Caprella pUkUgita (40: 4.4: 1.8); C. californica (40: 1.2: 1.2). 



6. OSTRACODS (80: 2.2: 1.0) 



Parasterope sp. A (60: 1.2: 0.6); Cycloleberis lobiancoi (20: 0.6: 

 0.2); Vargula americana (20: 0.4: 0.2). 



7. NEBALIACEANS(20:1.0:3.0) 



Nebalia piigettensis. 



8. ISOPODS (40: 2.4: 1.2) 



Cirolana harfordi (20: 0.8: 0.4); Paracercies sp. (20: 1.0: 0.2); 

 Excorallana kathae (20: 0.4: 0.2); gnathiid juveniles (20: 0.2: 

 0.4). 



9. FISHES (20: ?: 1.8) 

 scales. 



10. CARIDEAN LARVAE (20: 1.2: 0.6) 



unidentified. 



11. CARIDEAN ADULTS AND JUVENILES (20: 1.2: 0.6) 



unidentified. 



12. REPTANTI AN ZOEA (20: 3.6: 0.4) 



unidentified. 



13. CALANOID AND CYCLOPOID COPEPODS (20: 0.2: 0.2) 



calanoid, Labidocera sp. 



This list indicates a diet much like that of 

 salema collected from a kelp bed near La Jolla by 

 Quast (1968), although Quast questioned the 

 validity of his data because of the collecting 

 methods used. 



Seriphus pol/tus—queenfish 



The queenfish, which can grow to 304 mm (Miller 

 and Lea 1972), consistently appeared in the study 

 area about 40 min after sunset and remained 

 active there throughout the night. Generally, 

 solitary individuals, or loosely spaced groups of 

 two to six swam several meters above the sea floor, 

 usually close to the seaward edge of the kelp 

 forest, but frequently above the open fields of 

 Dictyopteris. Then, shortly after first morning 

 light, 40 to 50 min before sunrise, they abruptly 

 left the area. 



During the day queenfish hover in dense, rela- 

 tively inactive schools close to shore (Figure 9), but 

 we have not seen them within 1.5 km of the study 

 site in daylight. Limbaugh (1955), presumably 

 assessing the daytime situation, stated: 



Figure 9.-A daytime aggregation of 

 queenfish, Seriphus politus. 



586 



