A bioenergetic model for Mysis growth and consumption applied to a Baltic population of Mysis mixta

A bioenergetic model for Mysis growth and consumption is presentedand used to calculate seasonal patterns of food consumptionby Mysis mixta at two stations in a coastal area of the northernBaltic Sea. Calculated specific consumption rates ranged from19%/day in small juveniles during the spring to 2%/day in adultsduring the winter. Gross conversion efficiencies on an energybasis were 26–34% in the spring and summer, 9–10%in the fall, and negative during the winter. These values areconsistent with experimental results available in the literature.Changes in stomach content over the year and differences instomach content between the two stations were similar to theseasonal patterns of daily food intake indicated by the model.The estimated weight of the stomach content from animals caughtat night corresponded to 9% of modeled daily consumption duringthe summer and fall. This is consistent with gut passage timesreported in the literature for feeding mysids but not with gutpassage times from starving mysids.