Phoxocephalid Amphipod Crustaceans as Predators on Larvae and Juveniles in Marine Soft-Bottom Communities

Abstract

Feeding patterns of phoxocephalid amphipod crustaceans are explored from soft-bottom communities in Monterey Bay, California (USA), Kaikoura (New Zealand) and McMurdo Sound (Antarctica) Crop contents indicate that benthic invertebrates are major prey, especially soft-bodied nematodes and polychaetous annelids Phoxocephalids also consume or trample larval and small juvenile polychaetes in laboratory and field feeding experiments Gut contents of the numerically abundant infaunal species CO-occurring with the phoxocephalids (primarily crustaceans and polychaetes) contain few or no invertebrate prey Dietary patterns and feeding experiments are difficult to link to benthic community structure Nevertheless the phoxocephal~ds may play disproportionately important community roles by consuming settling larvae and juveniles of soft-bodled invertebrates