Feeding performance and prey selection
of the Pile perch (Rhacochilus vacca)
Friday Harbor Labs, Blinks Fellowship Program, 2003
The pile perch (R. vacca) is a trophic specialist, feeding almost exclusievely in hard prey like gastropods and bivalves. Pile perch overcome the challenges of durophagy via a well-developed pharyngeal jaw apparatus, consisting of hypertrophied muscles and enlarged molariform toothplates. Considering molluscivores can alter snail community structure, Jeff Jensen, Dianna Padilla, Kellie Halverson, and I are interested in determining the impact pile perch may have on local snail communities in the San Juan Islands. This project was divided into two parts: 1) investigating pile perch diets in the wild (Halverson & Padilla) and 2) assessing the feeding performance and prey selection in laboratory settings (Clark & Jensen).
The pharyngeal jaw apparatus of R. vacca. UPJ = upper pharyngeal jaw.
LPJ = lower pharyngeal jaw. Together, the UPJ and LPJ shear gastropod
shells into tiny fragments, allowing digestive enzymes to break down food,
which would otherwise be protected by an intact shell and operculum.
Photo by Jeff Jensen.
Friday Harbor Labs, Blinks Fellowship Program, 2003
The pile perch (R. vacca) is a trophic specialist, feeding almost exclusievely in hard prey like gastropods and bivalves. Pile perch overcome the challenges of durophagy via a well-developed pharyngeal jaw apparatus, consisting of hypertrophied muscles and enlarged molariform toothplates. Considering molluscivores can alter snail community structure, Jeff Jensen, Dianna Padilla, Kellie Halverson, and I are interested in determining the impact pile perch may have on local snail communities in the San Juan Islands. This project was divided into two parts: 1) investigating pile perch diets in the wild (Halverson & Padilla) and 2) assessing the feeding performance and prey selection in laboratory settings (Clark & Jensen).
The pharyngeal jaw apparatus of R. vacca. UPJ = upper pharyngeal jaw.
LPJ = lower pharyngeal jaw. Together, the UPJ and LPJ shear gastropod
shells into tiny fragments, allowing digestive enzymes to break down food,
which would otherwise be protected by an intact shell and operculum.
Photo by Jeff Jensen.