FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 79, NO. 4 



Table l. — Stomach contents of 299 longhom sculpins ranging 

 from 15.8 to 32.2 cm TL (mean 21.1 ±3.4 cm) and 21 to 380 g 

 (mean 101 ±52 g). Twenty-four stomachs were empty. IRI = 

 index of relative importance (see text). 



Table 2. — Stomach contents of 201 winter flounder ranging 

 from 15.2 to 42.6 cm (mean 24.0 ±6.0 cm) and 29 to 1,120 g (mean 

 209 ± 187 g). Fifty-seven stomachs were empty. IRI = index of rel- 

 ative importance ( see text). 



winter flounder stomachs. Crustaceans were the 

 major prey group for the winter flounder (Table 2). 

 Amphipods accounted for the largest percentage of 

 the diet by weight (25.7%). Unciola sp., Lep- 

 tocheirus pinguis, and Aeginella longicornis were 

 the principal amphipods consumed. Cumaceans, 

 isopods, and decapods were of minor importance. 

 After crustaceans, polychaetes were the next 

 major prey group, making up 18.3% of the diet by 

 weight. Polychaete identification was often dif- 

 ficult due to partial digestion or incomplete ani- 

 mals and this obscured the importance of some 

 species. Melinna cristata, Lumbrineris fragilis, 

 Pherusa affinis, and Phyllodoce sp. were the prin- 

 cipal polychaetes consumed. Mollusks were of lit- 

 tle importance, but one species, the bivalve Ceras- 

 toderma pinnulatum , was preyed on significantly 

 and constituted 4.2% of the diet by weight. Algae 

 made up 12.7% of the diet. Echinoderms accounted 

 for only a small fraction of the stomach con- 

 tents. 



' Frequency of occurrence of food item. 



Windowpane 



The windowpane had a specialized diet and only 

 seven prey taxa were found in the 37 stomachs. 

 Crustaceans were by far the most important prey 

 group, constituting 79.3% of the diet by weight 

 and 99.0% of the diet by number (Table 3). Mysids, 

 principally Mysis mixta, were the main compo- 

 nent of the crustacean prey. Mysis mixta ac- 

 counted for 72.4% of the diet by weight. Pisces, 

 namely Clupea h. harengus, were secondary in 

 importance and made up 20.3% of the diet by 

 weight. Polychaetes composed a negligible portion 

 of the diet. 



Yellowtail Flounder 



The 60 yellowtail flounder stomachs analyzed 

 contained 39 prey taxa. Crustacea accounted for 



778 



