Feeding habits of mesopelagic fish Lampanyctus jordani (Family: Myctophidae) over the continental slope off Tohoku area, northern Japan

The feeding habits of Lampanyctus jordani, an abundant mesopelagic fish in the subarctic North Pacific, was examined based on the stomach contents of 721 specimens collected over the continental slope off the Tohoku area, Pacific coast of northern Japan during April and October from 1996 to 1998. The prey items comprised mainly crustaceans such as copepods, amphipods, euphausiids and decapods. Euphausiids were the most important items in the diet both during April and October. During April, when the annual maximum of zooplankton biomass occurred and the Oyashio Intrusion Current prevailed, L. jordani fed intensively and consumed a high proportion of Euphausia pacifica. These seasonal variations also influenced the feeding intensity and dietary diversity. Feeding intensity, measured by the stomach contents index, was higher during April than October, reflecting the higher biomass of zooplankton in the Tohoku area during spring. The dietary diversity of L. jordani was lower during April than October, indicating that L. jordani shifted to a wider variety of prey when the availability of E. pacifica was limited.