THE BARENTS SEA 



169 



GULF OF 

 MOTOVSK 



community 



, Spongia-Bryozc 

 Bracniopoda " 



Ш1Ш1 шш ищ 



8 9 10 It 12 



Fig. 69. Relationship of total (whole water 

 column) and feeding (lower part) benthos for had- 

 dock on some typical biocoenoses of Murman 

 coast (Zatzepin, 1939). 1 Porifera; 2 Coelenterata; 

 3 Bryozoa; 4 Brachiopoda; 5 Polychaeta;6 Sipun- 

 culoidea; 7 Bivalves; 8 Gastropoda; 9 Echino- 

 dermata ; 10 Tunicata ; 11 Barnacles ; 12 Others. 



Definite seasonal cycles were observed in the feeding of long rough dab : 

 it is low in winter and spring, especially in March-May, when the fish reaches 

 its sexual maturity. The main feeding takes place in June-October. The annual 

 change in the repletion index is given in Table 75. 



The long rough dab's selective capacity is clearly shown by a comparison 

 of its stomach-content with the fauna of the bottom areas inhabited by it. 



The sea-dab {Pleuronectes platessa) differs greatly from the long rough dab. 

 It feeds mainly on molluscs and polychaetes and, to a much lesser extent, on 

 bottom crustaceans, sipunculids and brittle stars. 



