Food and feeding habits of juvenile flounder Platichthys flesus (L), and turbot Scophthalmus maximus L in the Aland archipelago northern Baltic Sea

The food choice of juvenile flounder (Platichthys flesus) and turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) was studied in the northern Baltic Sea during the years 1988, 1989, 1994 and 1995, The diet included organisms from 30 species/taxa in flounder (n=306) and 10 species/taxa in turbot (n=41). Flounder less than or equal to 45 mm mainly consumed meiofauna (dominating taxon: Harpacticoida, Copepoda) and larger fish (46-101 mm) consumed macrofauna (dominating taxa: Oligochaeta, Amphipoda and Chironomidae). In terms of biomass, macrofauna dominated for all sizes of flounders, and meiofauna was important only for the smallest fish. A strong seasonal variation could be detected in the diet. In spring, macrofauna dominated for all size classes of fish (only fish >30 mm were caught in spring), while in summer and autumn meiofauna dominated the diets for fish less than or equal to 45 mm in size. Juvenile turbot (22-88 mm) consumed macrofauna and small fish. Turbot less than or equal to 30 mm consumed mainly amphipods, while >30 mm turbot consumed mysid shrimps, amphipods and fish. The ontogenetic shift from meio- to macrofauna-sized prey in flounders occurs at a larger fish size in the northern Baltic Sea than reported in other areas, possibly depending on the increased relative importance of meiofauna in the northern Baltic. The seasonal variation in the diet could be due to seasonally changing abundances in the zoobenthos, or for the small fish (1-group, spring), to switching from meio- to macrofauna in order to optimize their energy gain. The 0-group flounders consumed meiofauna for a long period, possibly due to a learning-process or simply due to easy availability of meiofauna. Turbot has a much larger mouth gap than flounders, thus allowing them to consume macrofauna from the beginning of their benthic life.