Getting fat in a hurry: food consumption during the feeding migration of NSS herring

Abstract

The Norwegian spring-spawning (NSS) herring Clupea harengus inhabits a seasonal environment where food is abundant only during a short period of the year. During that period NSS herring store energy for metabolic requirements for the rest of the year and for reproduction next spring (Dalpadado, et al. 2000, Slotte 1999). Here, we describe changes in body mass during the feeding migration. We also apply a bioenergetics model to estimate the consumption required to account for the observed body mass increase. Then we relate this consumption to the life cycle and production of Calanus finmarchicus, the main prey of NSS herring (Dalpadado, et al. 2000). In this extended abstract we give a detailed description of the methods and a short summary of results and conclusions.