title: Diet of pre-settlement larvae of coral-reef fishes: selection of prey types and sizes.
abstract: This study examines the diet of nine taxa from seven families of pre-settlement coral-reef fish larvae collected in the lagoon of New Caledonia, south-west Pacific. Chesson's index of electivity indicated that the major prey groups in the diets, i.e. small copepods, small unidentified crustaceans and eggs, were positively selected by all larvae, provided they were at least 150 microm wide. This result emphasizes the role of larvae's behaviour on their feeding.
authors.affiliation: IRD, UR128, BPA5, 98 848 Nouméa cedex, New Caledonia. Laure.Carassou@noumea.ird.nc
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Carassou
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Le Borgne
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ponton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D049628:Body Size; D004032:Diet; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005399:Fishes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D005766:Gastrointestinal Contents; D007448:Invertebrates / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D010140:Pacific Ocean; D011235:Predatory Behavior; D015048:Zooplankton / Q000502:physiology