FISHERY BLLLETIN: VOL. 69. NO. 3 



limited to benthic prey. I have found no refer- 

 ences to food habits of this fish in the litera- 

 ture. 



Movements. — On the basis of limited obser- 

 vations, these fish do not seem to move around in 

 their habitat as much as senoritas do. Never- 

 theless, they do show marked inshore/offshore 

 movements that may relate to changing water 

 temperatures. Unlike the ubiquitous senorita, 

 this fish occurred in limited numbers that al- 

 lowed assessing relative abundance through ac- 

 tual counts. It was never seen at the 3- to 10-m 

 station but was reasonably abundant (10-20 in- 

 dividuals were counted during 15-min periods) 

 on all visits to the 30- to 35-m station. At the 

 20- to 25-m station its appearance was irregular 

 and closely followed temperature fluctuations. 

 Generally it was rare or absent at the 20- to 25-m 

 station when bottom temperatures rose much 

 above 13° C, and was present (a maximum of 

 10 was seen during a 20-min ]5eriod) when the 

 temperature dropped much below this level. As 

 most of the individuals seen were juveniles, a 

 seasonal factor inde]3endent of temperature was 

 probably operating here. Nevertheless, short- 

 term temperature changes over the critical range 

 (approximately 12°-14° C at the 20- to 25-m sta- 

 tion) were consistently accompanied by the 

 presence or absence of this fish. I emphasize 

 that these assessments of abundance are relative 

 to the numbers of the species regularly present. 

 The senorita was alwa.vs more abundant than 

 the seaperch at all stations and under all con- 

 ditions. Thus whereas the seaperch was con- 

 sidered abundant during a period in which 15 

 individuals were seen, at no time did I find so few 

 seiioritas present at any of the three La Jolla 

 stations. 



Kelp Perch 



The kelp perch was not abundant in the La 

 Jolla study area, where it was seen only at the in- 

 shore station. Its distribution is essentially lim- 

 ited to the kelp beds, which were not well de- 

 veloped in the study area at the time of this 

 work. Nevertheless, it is very numerous in Cal- 

 ifornia inshore waters that are heavilv forested 



with kelp. Attaining a maximum length of about 

 150 mm, the kelp perch is recorded from Van- 

 couver Island, Canada, south to central Baja 

 California, Mexico (Roedel, 1953). The kelp 

 ]Derch occurs near the rocky bottom at the base 

 of giant kelp, as well as adjacent to the rising 

 kelp stipes, but is most abundant just under the 

 kelp canopy, near the water's surface. Tyiii- 

 cally, this fish occurs in aggregations of a dozen 

 or more, but larger individuals frequently are 

 solitary, especially those near the rocky sea floor. 

 Most of my observations of kelp perch were made 

 outside the La Jolla study area, the majority 

 around the Channel Islands. 



Food habits. — This perch feeds in a picking 

 manner, similar to that employed by the senorita 

 and sharpnose seaperch. It preys on a variety 

 of organisms from the surface of the surrounding 

 kelp and also feeds extensively on material sus- 

 pended in the current. Its pointed snout and 

 small, upturned mouth, together with a number 

 of relatively long, curved canine teeth that pro- 

 ject forward at the front of each jaw, are well 

 suited to its mode of feeding. The dentition of 

 this fish is similar to that of the seiiorita, a fact 

 also noted by Hubbs and Hubbs (1954). I did 

 not sample kelp perch from the population at 

 large for food-habit analysis; all those collected 

 were from known cleaning stations. However, 

 Limbaugh (1955) stated that they feed on small 

 crustaceans, particularly those that occur on 

 giant kelp. Quast (1968), who also reported a 

 predominantly crustacean diet, with a prepon- 

 derance of amphipods, noted that some mollusks 

 and bryozoans are taken as well. 



Movements. — Limited observations indicate 

 that aggregations of kelp perch in the canopy, 

 and close to large rocks, remain relatively stable. 

 Several aggregations that were observed over 

 2 to 3 months did not change appreciably in lo- 

 cation or in numbers of individuals. Data on 

 this point are scanty, however. 



At night they hover in the same areas in 

 which they are active in daylight, but their ac- 

 tivity at this time, if any occurs, was not deter- 

 mined. 



496 



