title: A trans-Atlantic examination of haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus food habits.
abstract: The food habits of Melanogrammus aeglefinus were explored and contrasted across multiple north-eastern and north-western Atlantic Ocean ecosystems, using databases that span multiple decades. The results show that among all ecosystems, echinoderms are a consistent part of M. aeglefinus diet, but patterns emerge regarding where and when M. aeglefinus primarily eat fishes v. echinoderms. Melanogrammus aeglefinus does not regularly exhibit the increase in piscivory with ontogeny that other gadoids often show, and in several ecosystems there is a lower occurrence of piscivory. There is an apparent inverse relationship between the consumption of fishes and echinoderms in M. aeglefinus over time, where certain years show high levels of one prey item and low levels of the other. This apparent binary choice can be viewed as part of a gradient of prey options, contingent upon a suite of factors external to M. aeglefinus dynamics. The energetic consequences of this prey choice are discussed, noting that in some instances it may not be a choice at all.
authors.affiliation: NOAA-Fisheries, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, U.S.A.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Tam
authors.affiliation: NOAA-Fisheries, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, U.S.A.
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Link
authors.affiliation: NOAA-Fisheries, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, U.S.A.|International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES), Copenhagen, V 1553, Denmark.
authors.forename: S I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Large
authors.affiliation: Institute of Marine Research (IMR), 5817, Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bogstad
authors.affiliation: Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, NS, B2Y 4A2, Canada.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bundy
authors.affiliation: Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, NS, B2Y 4A2, Canada.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Cook
authors.affiliation: Institute of Marine Research (IMR), 5817, Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: G E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Dingsør
authors.affiliation: Polar Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography (PINRO), 6, Knipovich-Street, Murmansk, 183038, Russia.
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Dolgov
authors.affiliation: Institute of Marine Research (IMR), 5817, Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Howell
authors.affiliation: Thünen Institute of Sea Fisheries, Palmaille 9, 22767, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kempf
authors.affiliation: Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Pakefield Road, Lowestoft, Suffolk, NR33 0HT, U.K.
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Pinnegar
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Technical University of Denmark, Charlottenlund Slot, DK-2920, Charlottenlund, Denmark.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rindorf
authors.affiliation: BioConsult Schuchardt & Scholle GbR, Reeder-Bischoff-Str. 54, 28757, Bremen, Germany.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schückel
authors.affiliation: Thünen Institute of Sea Fisheries, Palmaille 9, 22767, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: A F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Sell
authors.affiliation: NOAA-Fisheries, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, U.S.A.
authors.forename: B E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001267:Atlantic Ocean; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D017753:Ecosystem; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D020387:Food Chain; D048388:Gadiformes / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: echinoderms; ecosystem-based fisheries management; piscivory; prey choice