S. Deady et Jm. Fives, DIET OF BALLAN WRASSE, LABRUS-BERGYLTA, AND SOME COMPARISONS WITH THEDIET OF CORKWING WRASSE, CRENILABRUS-MELOPS, Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 75(3), 1995, pp. 651-665
The gut contents of 99 ballan wrasse (Labrus bergylta: Teleostei; Labr
idae) sampled between April and July in Galway Bay, Ireland and 95 bal
lan wrasse sampled between April and June in Dinard, Brittany, France
were examined. Decapods and bivalves were the major prey categories in
both areas, algae and gastropods were also frequently eaten but in mu
ch smaller amounts. The volume of the major food categories did not va
ry significantly with fish length. However, fish longer than 20 cm did
consume greater volumes of bivalves than smaller fish. An increase in
dietary diversity during the breeding season was observed. Ballan and
corkwing (Crenilabrus melops) exploited many of the same food categor
ies but with different emphases. Bivalves, which were major prey of co
rkwing, were also very important to the ballan captured simultaneously
at the same site.