Feeding Habits of Larval European River Lamprey Lampetra fluviatilis from the Chernaya River (Baltic Sea Basin)

Abstract

The results of the analysis of the bolus of the larval river lamprey Lampetra fluviatlis caught in the Chernaya River in May are presented. A quantitative analysis of the main food components is performed; the taxonomic composition of algae and invertebrates is determined. The content of the digestive tract consists mainly (>90% of weight) of sand and detritus as well as algae and invertebrates. A large amount of diatoms, other plankton, and periphyton unicellular algae and coenobia, as well as plankton rotifers, have been first found among food items. It is shown that organisms from the river flow may play a critical role in larval lamprey.