Demersal Fish and American Lobster Diets in the Lower Hudson-Raritan Estuary.

摘要

Characterizing the demersal fish food web in the Hudson-Raritan Estuary is important for understanding specifically how this estuary is used by fishery resources. Knowledge of fish food webs and essential fish forage resources of the estuary can support habitat management decisions. Little is known about diets of the community of fish and the American lobster (Homarus americanus) that inhabit this estuary, although it is a major estuarine complex in the Northeast that continues to support fisheries. To gain insight into trophic and habitat functions in this estuary, the diets of the most abundant demersal fish species and the American lobster were examined. These predators were collected by trawl in various parts of the Hudson-Raritan Estuary over six seasons, July 1996 through November 1997.