Eggs from Station-IV (2011): In station IV, more number of Clupeids eggs (31.04%) were collected followed Engraulids (21.4%), Carangids (01.81%), Mugilids (9.08%), Pristigastrids (5.73%), Teraponids (4.20%), Cynoglossids (3.53%), Scombrids (2.47%), Chirocentrids (2.24%), Ophichthids (1.77%), Gerreids (1.61%), Synodontids (1.59%) and Ambassieds (1.10 %,) (Figure 49).
At station I, Clupeids ranked first contributing 31.97 %, followed by Engraulids (18.75%), Caranjids (11.59%), Pristigastrids (5.94%), Cynoglossids (5.00%), Tetrodontids (4.63%), Paralicthids (3.89%), Chirocentrids (2.86%), Scombrids (2.28%), Ophicthids (1.83%), Synodontids (1.38%), Ambassides (1.32%), Soleids (1.25%), Atherinids (1.10%) and Teraponids (0.91%).
In general, daytime samples, which included
engraulids, clupeids, atherinids and tetraodontids, were similar to net samples in tidal flats during the day (Pichler, 2005).
The fishing of anchovies in general (
engraulids) varies more from year to year than most fish, due to fluctuating stocks.
Larvae collected during the survey represented 58 different families, of which engraulids, sciaenids, carangids, and clupeids were the most prominent.
Unidentified clupeiforms (engraulids and clupeids) were excluded from further analyses because their extreme concentrations and taxonomic ambiguity can often mask abundance and assemblage trends (Tolan et al., 1997; Hernandez et al., 2003).
At the adult phase, in length classes over 261 mm FL, there is some degree of specialization, as they consume more fish, particularly
engraulids.
Clupeids, scombrids and
engraulids can alternate between filter- and particulate-feeding modes, which may allow them to more effectively consume relatively small prey (~1 mm), such as fish eggs.
By approximately 80-100 mm FL, they were piscivorous and fed primarily on engraulids, a pattern similar to that reported in estuaries.
The selection of engraulids and atherinids, as occurs on New Jersey beaches, is similar to that for other populations (Juanes et al., 1996), except that atherinids made up a much smaller percentage of the diet (Table 2).