Spatial and temporal variation in the diet of the Pacific sand lance Ammodytes hexapterus
 in waters off the coast of British Columbia, Canada

The diet of the Pacific Sand Lance (Ammodytes hexapterus) was quantified from the stomach contents of 115 Pacific Sand Lance caught in the Strait of Georgia and Saanich Inlet (Vancouver Island) in the Salish Sea, British Columbia, in the spring and summer of 1966, in the Strait of Georgia in the spring and summer of 1967, and in the Strait of Georgia and Saanich Inlet in the spring and summer of 1968. There were 12 major taxa of prey in diets, 8 of which were Crustacea. Based on an index of relative importance, copepods were the dominant prey in 1966 and 1968, but not in 1967, when cladocerans, larvaceans, and teleosts also were common. The copepods Pseudocalanus spp. and Calanus marshallae were the only taxa to appear in diets in all three years. Pseudocalanus dominated the copepod component of diets in 1966, when sampling occurred in July; unspecified copepod nauplii (an early larval stage) were dominant in 1967 and 1968, when sampling occurred earlier (April to June). With the profound changes that have occurred in the Salish Sea over recent decades, these data can serve as a baseline for comparison.

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Modelling nearshore intertidal habitat use of young-of-the-year Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus) in Barkley Sound, British Columbia, Canada

Environmental Biology of Fishes ◽

10.1007/s10641-008-9374-2 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 83 (4) ◽

pp. 473-484 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Trevor B. Haynes ◽

Clifford K. L. Robinson ◽

Philip Dearden

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Habitat Use ◽

Intertidal Habitat ◽

Sand Lance ◽

Ammodytes Hexapterus ◽

Barkley Sound ◽

Pacific Sand Lance ◽

Young Of The Year

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Identifying subtidal burying habitat of Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus) in the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia, Canada

Progress In Oceanography ◽

10.1016/j.pocean.2013.05.029 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 115 ◽

pp. 119-128 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Clifford L.K. Robinson ◽

Doug Hrynyk ◽

J. Vaughn Barrie ◽

Jake Schweigert

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Sand Lance ◽

Strait Of Georgia ◽

Ammodytes Hexapterus ◽

Pacific Sand Lance

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Rhinoceros Auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata) Nestling Diet May Gauge Pacific Sand Lance (Ammodytes hexapterus) Recruitment

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f93-213 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 50 (9) ◽

pp. 1908-1915 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Douglas F. Bertram ◽

Gary W. Kaiser

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Sand Lance ◽

Ammodytes Hexapterus ◽

Nestling Diet ◽

Cerorhinca Monocerata ◽

Pacific Sand Lance ◽

Term Monitoring ◽

Rhinoceros Auklet ◽

Seabird Colonies

We studied (1984–86) the diet of rhinoceros auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata) nestlings at three colonies on the British Columbia coast (Lucy islands, Pine Island, and Triangle Island). On the Lucy Islands, Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus) dominated nestling food loads in all years. In 1985, 0+ sand lance dominated the nestling diet on all colonies. Concurrent measures of nestling growth rate, independent indexes of ocean production, and the proportion of sand lance in groundfish stomach samples were also highest in 1985. This suggests a linkage between ocean production, 0+ sand lance abundance, and events on seabird colonies over a broad geographic range. We emphasize the importance of sand lance to temperate seabirds and contrast British Columbia with areas where sand lance are commercially exploited. Rhinoceros auklet nestling diet, growth, and other data collected on colonies suggest that long-term monitoring on seabird colonies can contribute timely and inexpensive information on the recruitment of sand lance stocks in Canadian waters.

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