Abstract
abundance of black sea bass ( Centropristis striata) has increased in coastal waters of the northeastern United States, and the implications of that change for regional food webs remain poorly understood. We used DNA metabarcoding of 2 gene regions, the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) region and the V9 hyper- variable region of 18S rRNA, to classify prey in gut contents of juvenile black sea bass collected from a nearshore habitat in Long Island Sound (LIS). Using sequence numbers for the COI and V9 regions, we found that gut contents were dominated by the crustacean superorder Eucarida, followed by 2 polychaete species, and an invasive amphipod, Grandidierella japonica. Bivalves, gastropods, and ostracods were less abundant. Fish prey, including northern pipefish ( Syngnathus fuscus) and Atlantic silverside ( Menidia menidia), were present (>10% of sequences) in the stomachs of 2 large black sea bass. High variability in sequence numbers was evident between individuals for both the COI and V9 gene regions. Taxonomic composition of prey items also differed: eucarids contributed >87% of V9 gene sequences in samples from 51 stomachs, amphipods composed >50% of sequences in samples from guts of 21 fish, and polychaetes dominated with >75% sequences in samples from 6 stomachs. We concluded that, during settlement pulses, juvenile black sea bass may compete with other benthic predators for decapod, polychaete, and amphipod prey in LIS nearshore habitats.