Ecology Summary - Clupea harengus

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Main Ref.	Whitehead, P.J.P., 1985
Remarks	Visual size-selective plankton feeder (Ref. 89567) Has the ability to switch between particulate- and filter-feeding (Ref. 4809). Adult feed on planktonic crustaceans, mollusc larvae, arrow worms, ctenophores, small fish (incl. eggs and larvae) (Ref. 188). Preyed upon by fish, birds, and marine mammals (Ref. 89563). Parasites found are protozoans, myxosporidians, trematodes, cestodes, nematodes and copepods (Refs. 5951, 37032). Herring biomass has shown inverse correlation with the biomass of sprat, a competitor for planktonic food (Refs. 82765; 82766). Benthopelagic and oceanodromous. Schooling species. Moves vertically in the water column, surfacing at dusk and descending at dawn. Biological anti-freeze enables tolerance to below zero temperatures up to -2.2°C. Found on the Scotian shelf at temperatures of 0°C-11°C. Filter feeds at low light with small prey, and feeds on larval fish, planktonic crustaceans, and molluscs at better lighting conditions (Ref. 117245).

Main Ref.

Whitehead, P.J.P., 1985

Remarks

Visual size-selective plankton feeder (Ref. 89567) Has the ability to switch between particulate- and filter-feeding (Ref. 4809). Adult feed on planktonic crustaceans, mollusc larvae, arrow worms, ctenophores, small fish (incl. eggs and larvae) (Ref. 188). Preyed upon by fish, birds, and marine mammals (Ref. 89563). Parasites found are protozoans, myxosporidians, trematodes, cestodes, nematodes and copepods (Refs. 5951, 37032). Herring biomass has shown inverse correlation with the biomass of sprat, a competitor for planktonic food (Refs. 82765; 82766). Benthopelagic and oceanodromous. Schooling species. Moves vertically in the water column, surfacing at dusk and descending at dawn. Biological anti-freeze enables tolerance to below zero temperatures up to -2.2°C. Found on the Scotian shelf at temperatures of 0°C-11°C. Filter feeds at low light with small prey, and feeds on larval fish, planktonic crustaceans, and molluscs at better lighting conditions (Ref. 117245).

Aquatic zones / Water bodies

	Marine - Neritic	Marine - Oceanic	Brackishwater	Freshwater
Marine zones / Brackish and freshwater bodies	supra-littoral zone littoral zone sublittoral zone	epipelagic mesopelagic epipelagic abyssopelagic hadopelagic	estuaries/lagoons/brackish seas mangroves marshes/swamps	rivers/streams lakes/ponds caves exclusively in caves

Highighted items on the list are where Clupea harengus may be found.

Habitat

Substrate	Benthic; Pelagic;
Substrate Ref.	Coad, B.W. and J.D. Reist, 2018
Special habitats
Special habitats Ref.

Associations

Ref.
Associations	schooling;
Associated with
Association remarks	Schooling behavior in Ref. 28664, 88171, 89563, 89564, 89566, 86779.
Parasitism

Feeding

Feeding type	mainly animals (troph. 2.8 and up)
Feeding type Ref.	Whitehead, P.J.P., 1985
Feeding habit	selective plankton feeding
Feeding habit Ref.	Gibson, R.N. and I.A. Ezzi, 1992

Trophic Level(s)

Estimation method	Original sample		Unfished population		Remark
Estimation method	Troph	s.e.	Troph	s.e.	Remark
From diet composition	3.38	0.13	3.20	0.34	Troph of juv./adults from 4 studies.
From individual food items	3.29	0.51			Trophic level estimated from a number of food items using a randomized resampling routine.
Ref.	Bowman, R.E., C.E. Stillwell, W.L. Michaels and M.D. Grosslein, 2000

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