FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 87, NO. 3, 1989 



A and those farther seaward. The Pr larvae con- 

 tained similar average numbers of prey items 

 per feeding individual in blocks A and B (8.8 and 

 9.2 items per larva, respectively, summed over 

 the water column), but the FP larvae contained 

 nearly twice as many items in block A as in block 

 B (Table 4). 



The diet of the jacksmelt larvae varied little 

 with location or over time: except in March 

 1979, the principal prey for all larval stages was 

 the small harpacticoid copepod Euterpina acuti- 

 frons. In the March 1979 survey, the Pr larvae 

 fed almost exclusively on Labidocera trispivosa 

 nauplii. Labidocera trispinosa nauplii also were 

 an appreciable fraction (36%) of the diet of the 

 older jacksmelt larvae on this survey, although 

 E. acutifrons still dominated. Minor compo- 

 nents of the diet for the Pr larvae included cen- 



tric diatoms (Coscinodiscus spp.), bivalve 

 veligers, tintinnids (Stenosomella spp.), cirri- 

 ped nauplii, and other copepods, e.g., Para- 

 calanus parvus (Table 4). The P'P larvae con- 

 sumed all of these items as well, in addition to 

 cirriped cypris larvae and a wider variety of 

 copepods (e.g., Oncea, Oithona, Corycaeus). 



Leuresthes tenuis 



Larval grunion were collected almost exclu- 

 sively from the neuston, in all five cross-shelf 

 blocks, in September and Ocotber 1978 and April 

 through September 1979. In total, 233 specimens 

 were dissected (Table 1); 36% contained prey. 

 Overall, feeding incidence differed little between 

 the Pr stage larvae (39.6 ± 14.9%) and older 

 larvae (35.7 ± 7.2%). The FP larvae displayed a 



Table 4. — Diet of larval Atherinopsis californiensis. Results for preflexion stage larvae are 

 given above; those for flexion-postflexion stage larvae are below. A blank column indicates 

 that no larvae containing food occurred in that stratum. Since larval A. californiensis occurred 

 only in the blocks A-C neuston and block A midwater, only those strata are shown. Water 

 column strata are N = neuston; M = midwater. %N = the percent of the total food items 

 attributable to a given category; %F0 = the percent of the larvae containing food items that 

 contained prey of the given category. Copepods listed as prey species include both cope- 

 podites and adults. 



574 



