Diet of five species of the family Myctophidae caught off the Mariana Islands

Myctophids are important components of marine food webs, but little is known about the diets of many species in large stretches of the ocean. To fill this knowledge gap, Myctophum lychnobium, Symbolophorus evermanni, Centrobranchus andreae, Myctophum aurolaternatum, and Myctophum nitidulum were collected off the previously unsampled Mariana Islands in 2007. Myctophum lychnobium predominately consumed pelagic molluscs (28 % by number), amphipods (26 %), and copepods (24 %). Symbolophorus evermanni consumed copepods (53 %) and larval fishes (22 %). Centrobranchus andreae consumed molluscs (90 %). Little dietary overlap occurred among these fishes, and the reliance on molluscs was unusual compared to results from previous studies.