study provided generalized information on food 

 habits, but little insight into possible intra- or 

 interspecific differences in diets resulting from 

 actual interaction among cooccurring fishes. Our 

 study is based on a single collection minimizing 

 temporal and spatial variations associated with 

 sampling. Food items were identified to species 

 whenever possible. Thus, a detailed comparison of 

 food taxa is arrived at with minimal geographic 

 and no seasonal eff'ects. 



A trawl haul of 75 min total duration was made 

 beginning at 1345 h Pacific daylight time, on 13 

 April 1975 with an Atlantic- Western trawl (24-m 

 footrope) from the Betty- A, a commercial dragger, 

 at approximately lat. 44°42'N, long. 124°24'W. 

 Depth of water was 95-106 m. The sediment was 

 sand (Byrne and Panshin 1968). Stomachs of fishes 

 were removed and preserved in Formalin^ at sea 

 (Table 1). Food items were identified and enumer- 

 ated in laboratories ashore. 



Table 1. -Fishes captured in an Atlantic-Western trawl on 13 



April 1975, 



All the food items identified from five species of 

 flatfishes are listed in Table 2, and the major food 

 taxa (taxa having a frequency of occurrence of 

 10^ or more) are listed for individual fish of three 

 species of flounders in Table 3. 



Parophrys vetulus had a diverse diet, feeding 

 primarily on polychaetes and amphipods. Mol- 

 lusks, ophiuroids, and Crustacea were also repre- 

 sented. The amphipod Ampelisca macrocephala, 

 the most numerous single prey species, occurred in 

 60% of fish. The diversity of the diet of P. vetulus is 



•Reference to trade names does not imply endorsement by the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA. 



due to the many different types of food consumed 

 by individual fish (represented by the vertical 

 columns in Table 3) rather than by different fish 

 feeding on different prey. Parophrys vetulus 

 appears to be an opportunistic feeder. Forrester 

 (1969) reported polychaetes, clams, and ophiuroids 

 as primary food organisms of P. vetulus, with 

 incidental occurrences of sandlance, crab, am- 

 phipods, shrimp, squid, and small fish. Pearcy and 

 Vanderploeg (1973) found polychaetes, amphipods, 

 and pelecypods were important prey of P. vetulus 

 off Oregon. 



Glyptocephalus zachirus fed primarily on four 

 species of amphipods and secondarily on poly- 

 chaetes. Amphipods occurred in all but one 

 stomach, polychaetes in 11% of the stomachs with 

 food. Nematodes were encountered in 38% of the 

 stomachs but were probably parasitic (Robert 

 Olson, pers. commun.). Pearcy and Vanderploeg 

 (1973) also found polychaetes and amphipods to be 

 the major food of G. zcu-hirus off Oregon. 



The principal food oi Lepidopsetta bilineata was 

 ophiuroids. All but one individual had been feed- 

 ing on Ophiura, which constituted the bulk of the 

 stomach contents. A few polychaetes and mollusks 

 were also present. According to Shubnikov and 

 Lisovenko (1964), the basic items of its diet are 

 polychaetes, mollusks, shrimps, and other crus- 

 taceans. Fishes (sandlance) and echinoderms were 

 occasionally found in stomachs. Food items 

 reported for L. bilineata in Hecate Strait, British 

 Columbia, by Forrester and Thomson (1969) were 

 clams, polychaetes, crabs, shrimps, sandlance, 

 herring, echinoderms, and amphipods. 



Eopsetta jordani preyed on fishes and decapod 

 crustaceans. Polychaetes and amphipods were not 

 present in its diet. Ketchen and Forrester (1966) 

 found euphausiids, herring, sandlance, and shrimp 

 as major food items in stomachs of E. jordani. 

 Pearcy and Vanderploeg (1973) reported shrimps, 

 pelagic fishes, and euphausiids as major food 

 items, indicating that this species feeds largely on 



pelagic prey. 



Citharichthys sordidus had been feeding inten- 

 sively on the northern anchovy, Engraulis mor- 

 dax. Anchovy were noted in nearly all the sanddab 

 when stomachs were removed, and all intact 

 preserved stomachs contained them. Since an- 

 chovy were not caught in the otter trawl, feeding 

 in the net is thought to be unlikely. According to 

 Pearcy and Vanderploeg (1973), euphausiids, 

 shrimps, amphipods, and crab larvae were common 

 in C. sordidus stomachs. 



985 



