Abundance, Distribution, and Diet of a Small-Bodied Ecotype of Windowpane

Windowpanes Scophthalmus aquosus were collected during demersal trawl surveys in Northumberland Strait in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada, during July and August 2001-2012. Abundance indices showed relatively little variation between years. Windowpanes were widely distributed in the strait, with 95% of the population occurring in water 9.5 degrees C. The Windowpanes collected were small, all Crangon septemspinosa, followed by mysids and (for fish >20cm) sand lances Ammodytes spp. and juvenile Atlantic Herring Harengus harengus. Small (<10-cm) individuals also ate crab megalops larvae. The mysids consumed on sandy-gravel substrates were Mysis spp.; those consumed on mud bottom were mainly Neomysis americana. Cannibalism was low, consisting of two individuals <1.6cm. Received May 23, 2013; accepted November 22, 2013