Feeding ecology of juvenile flatfishes of the surf zone of a sandy beach

Prey items of 0- and 1-group plaice Pleuronectes platessa, sole Solea solea, brill Scophthalmus rhombus, turbot S. maximus and dab Limnda limanda of the surf zone of a Belgian sandy beach, included hyperbenthic (e.g. mysids), endobenthic (e.g. polychaetes) and epibenthic (e.g. shrimps) species. Little dietary overlap was observed. If diet overlap did occur, it mainly involved prey species that are dominant in the surf zone of Belgian beaches, such as shrimps and mysids. These results suggest an oppurtunistic utilization by flatfish of the available Food resources in surf zone ecosystems. Also, two strategically different feeding habits could be distinguished between the five flatfish species. Turbot and brill mainly fed on large, highly mobile prey (e.g, fish, mysids) and had a rather narrow prey spectrum, whereas plaice. dab and sole ate more benthic prey (e.g. polychaetes) and had a broader prey spectrum. (C) 1999 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.