44 



sought for by some foraging animals. Pelagic larvae of 

 many benthonic animals are a chief source of food. 



It is generally agreed (Blegvad, 1951) that many 

 animals select their food and that they seldom change 

 dietSo Benthonic animals can be regarded as the chief 

 source of food for predators and carnivores. Fluctuations 

 in their kinds and numbers can thus provide and index 

 of productivity of animals in higher categorieso In a 

 series of studies on the food of bottom-feeding fishes 

 of Danish waters, Blegvad regarded most pelecypods and 

 smaller crustaceans and nearly all polychaetes as first 

 class plaice food. The amounts by weight and frequency 

 in stomach contents of fishes, gave worms the highest 

 ratings, varying from 50 to 90%, Pelecypods and crusta- 

 ceans comprised most of the rest. Later Blegvad summarized 

 the results of studies of nearly 25 years and showed that 

 only slight variations in kinds of foods occurred with 

 time and place. It was found that the amounts of com- 

 mercial fishes caught were directly related to the amounts 

 of bottom animals present. These experiments may be 

 directly applicable to the animals existing in Santa 

 Monica Bay. 



Size of the Largest Animal Species Taken 



Most invertebrate metazoan animals in Santa Monica 

 Bay are small to minute, often measuring less than one to 

 two inches long, A few individuals, from scattered places. 



