FEEDING-HABITS OF JUVENILE PACIFIC SALMON IN MARINE WATERS OF SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA AND NORTHERN BRITISH-COLUMBIA

First ocean-year feeding habits were determined for juvenile salmon (O ncorhynchus spp.) collected with purse seines in marine waters of sout heastern Alaska in 1983 and 1984 and northern British Columbia in 1984 . Associated prey assemblages were sampled with neuston and plankton n ets in 1984. Salmon diets included at least 30 taxa of prey. Crustacea ns (principally hyperiid amphipods), fish, and tunicates were the most important prey of pink (O. gorbuscha), chum (O. Keta), and sockeye (O . nerka) salmon. Fish were the most important prey of coho (O. kisutch ) and chinook (O. tshawytscha) salmon and made up the highest percenta ge of stomach content weight for all salmon species. Diet shifted from crustaceans in 1983 to fish in 1984 for juvenile pink, sockeye, and c hum salmon. Diet overlapped significantly ((C) over cap(lambda)>0.60) between pink and sockeye salmon, pink and chum salmon, and chum and so ckeye salmon. Coho salmon diet overlap was <0.60 in all paired compari sons. Nearly all (98.6%) of the 2,210 stomachs examined were at least half full. Although, in general, prey consumed were not very similar t o prey observed in the environment, the composition of salmon diets wa s more similar to neuston collections than to zooplankton collections.