CONCLUSION.— Abudefduf abdominalis is a 

 diurnal planktivore that preys primarily on 

 copepods. 



Dascyllus albisella Gill 



Where corals are abundant, this damselfish is 

 numerous to depths of at least 35 m. During day- 

 light, it aggregates in the water column and picks 

 small organisms from the plankton, much as does 

 Abudefduf abdominalis , described above, and its 

 aggregations rise and fall in the water column in 

 response to the same variables that influence that 

 species. Also like A. abdominalis, D. albisella 

 descends to the reef during evening twilight and 

 spends the night close among the rocks — under 

 cover on dark nights, and in exposed positions 

 when there is moonlight. 



Twelve specimens (79: 42-95 mm) were col- 

 lected during day and night. The six that were 

 speared shortly before first morning light as they 

 hovered among the coral contained only a few 

 well-digested fragments (five were taken after 

 nights of bright moonlight, one after a dark night). 

 On the other hand, the six that were collected from 

 aggregations in the water column during after- 

 noons had stomachs full of food, including much 

 fresh material as listed in Table 44. 



Gosline and Brock (1960) reported that D. al- 

 bisella occurs in small schools around certain 

 large coral heads and listed stomach contents as 

 follows: shrimp and crab larvae, mysids, and 

 calanoid copepods. 



CONCLUSION.— Dascy//us albisella is a diur- 

 nal planktivore that takes primarily larvaceans 

 and copepods. 



FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 72, NO. 4 



Chromis vanderhilti (Fowler) 



This, the smallest pomacentrid in Kona, is 

 numerous where exposed basalt ledges are inter- 

 spersed with coral. During the day it aggregates in 

 the water column, but even under bright sunlight 

 rarely moves more than 50 cm above the reef On 

 overcast days it generally remains sheltered, and 

 shortly before sunset is the first planktivorous 

 damselfish to descend to cover on the reef (Hobson, 

 1972). At night, it usually remains out of sight 

 deep within reef crevices, and in the morning is 

 the last pomacentrid to appear. 



All 12 specimens (38: 17-46 mm) taken from 

 feeding aggregations during midday had stom- 

 achs full of food, including fresh material, as 

 listed in Table 45. 



CONCLUSION.— C/?rom/s vanderbilti is a 

 diurnal planktivore that takes primarily copepods 

 and larvaceans. 



Chromis leucurus Gilbert 



Gosline and Brock (1960) considered C. 

 leucurus to include two distinct color phases: in 

 one the body is very dark anteriorly and abruptly 

 white posteriorly; in the other, the whole body, 

 except black pectoral base and white caudal fin, is 

 mostly plain orange-brown. Although I followed 

 this judgment when making the fish counts, the 

 probability that at least two species are rep- 

 resented, and that neither one may in fact be C. 

 leucurus, is currently under study by John E. 

 Randall, B. P. Bishop Museum, and Stanley 

 Swerdloff, Government of American Samoa. In 

 any event, the specimens collected for study of food 



Table 44.— Food of Dascvllus albisella. 



982 



