72 



Fishery Bulletin 88(1), 1990 



> 



Z 



> 



^ 



> 



^ 



80 

 70 

 40 



20 



ri 



20 

 40 

 50 



Stratum 1 



(n=49) 



TAXON 



C D 



22% 



10% 



88% 



%F 



A 

 B 

 C 

 D 



E 

 F 

 G 

 H 



29% : : 



1 



rr 



31% 



%F 



50 

 60 

 30-1 

 20 



1 t 



64% 



Stratum 3 



(n=51) 



B C 



88% 10% 



16% 



20 

 80 



100 J 



H 



4% 2 7% 1 8% 2% 



%F 



63'! 



JHL 



Hydrozoa 



Anthozoa 



Algae 



Amphlpoda 



Copepoda 



Polychaeta 



Porlfera 



Scyphozoa 



8251 



222 



164 



643 



32 



_ML 



6875 



122 



77 





 

 



66 



14 















JHi 



ML 



IRI 



Ml 



A 

 B 

 C 

 D 



E 

 F 

 G 

 H 



2454 2224 



69 



57 



6002 



1 



802 



332 



26 



48 



49 



297 



1 



786 



326 



26 



Figure 4 



Percent frequency (%F). percent number 

 (%N), percent volume (%V), index of relative 

 importance {IRI), and modified index of im- 

 portance (MI) for higher taxonomic groups 

 of food in the diet of ChaetoHiiiti'rusJhhrr col- 

 lected in South Carolina waters, by strata. 

 Stratum 1 is composed of inshore estuarine 

 habitats; stratum 2 encompasses shallow 

 (<20 m), nearshore habitats with sandy bot- 

 toms; stratum 3 includes offshore artificial 

 reef areas and the Murrells Inlet jetties. 



while these polychaetes were feeding. Since heads or 

 mouthparts of the polychaetes were usually absent, 

 there were often no countable body parts, making it 

 impossible to determine the number of individuals 

 eaten. I had similar problems in enumerating hydroids, 

 sponges, algae, bryozoans, and occasionally sea ane- 

 mones and sea pansies. The IRI ranked amphipods as 



the dominant prey, followed by hydroids, anthozoans, 

 |)olychaetes, and sponges. The MI ranked hydroids as 

 the most important taxon, followed by anthozoans, 

 polychaetes, amphipods, and sponges. 



Hydroids were the dominant food item for fish from 

 stratum 1, as shown by both the IRI and the MI (Fig. 

 4). Less important were anthozoans, algae, amphipods 



