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I know some people on the forum target Tog when they are in season and they can be found in all three states, so I figured I'd post this in the main forum as a general discussion.
Being a nerd at heart, I was doing some research on Tog feeding behavior, because I've heard conflicting information on whether they feed by sight or scent. Turns out they are primarily sight feeders which is why they shut down at night. I also found interesting information on the effect of temperature on feeding. I figured there may be other nerds at heart like me who find this stuff interesting, so I decided to share
I found the information in a NOAA publication from 1999. Here is the link: http://nefsc.noaa.gov/publications/tm/tm118/tm118.pdf
Taken from the report's page #11:
FEEDING BEHAVIOR
Tautog feed throughout the daytime. Beginning soon after sunrise, tautog were reported to leave their shelters to forage for food, which involved scan-and-pick feeding. This activity sometimes took the adults up to 500 m from their homesites. Bigelow and Schroeder (1953) observed that tautog followed the flood tide up above low water levels, around ledges, to prey on mussels in the intertidal zone, and returned to deeper water during the ebb tide. Feeding continued to evening twilight. Olla et al. (1974) reported that tautog required about 8 hr to process and evacuate food.
FACTORS AFFECTING FEEDING
Tautog find prey visually and were reported not to feed at night (Olla et al. 1974; Deacutis 1982). Neither do they actively feed in northern waters during the coldest part of the year (Cooper 1966; Curran 1992). In Narragansett Bay, Cooper (1966) observed that of 15 tautog, 13 had shrunken and emptied digestive tracts in winter. The other two fish had remains of Atlantic rock crabs in their stomachs. Curran (1992) found all feeding stopped in the closely related cunner (and probably tautog) when water temperatures reached the low levels that induce torpor and hibernation. Cunner, at least, survived up to 6 mo without food, using glycogen, lipids, and proteins stored in their livers (Curran 1992); tautog may do likewise.
In laboratory experiments, a decrease in feeding was observed with an increase in water temperature above certain levels. Tautog which had been acclimated to temperatures of 19°C and 21°C, respectively, decreased their ingestion of food, when water temperatures were increased to 28.7-33.0°C over a certain amount of days.
Deacutis (1982) found tautog did not have an acute sense of smell for detecting prey, compared to red hake (Urophycis chuss), and were hesitant to explore open bottom to find food they could not see.
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There is much more information in the report, but I just wanted to post a few of items to wet the palate
Being a nerd at heart, I was doing some research on Tog feeding behavior, because I've heard conflicting information on whether they feed by sight or scent. Turns out they are primarily sight feeders which is why they shut down at night. I also found interesting information on the effect of temperature on feeding. I figured there may be other nerds at heart like me who find this stuff interesting, so I decided to share
I found the information in a NOAA publication from 1999. Here is the link: http://nefsc.noaa.gov/publications/tm/tm118/tm118.pdf
Taken from the report's page #11:
FEEDING BEHAVIOR
Tautog feed throughout the daytime. Beginning soon after sunrise, tautog were reported to leave their shelters to forage for food, which involved scan-and-pick feeding. This activity sometimes took the adults up to 500 m from their homesites. Bigelow and Schroeder (1953) observed that tautog followed the flood tide up above low water levels, around ledges, to prey on mussels in the intertidal zone, and returned to deeper water during the ebb tide. Feeding continued to evening twilight. Olla et al. (1974) reported that tautog required about 8 hr to process and evacuate food.
FACTORS AFFECTING FEEDING
Tautog find prey visually and were reported not to feed at night (Olla et al. 1974; Deacutis 1982). Neither do they actively feed in northern waters during the coldest part of the year (Cooper 1966; Curran 1992). In Narragansett Bay, Cooper (1966) observed that of 15 tautog, 13 had shrunken and emptied digestive tracts in winter. The other two fish had remains of Atlantic rock crabs in their stomachs. Curran (1992) found all feeding stopped in the closely related cunner (and probably tautog) when water temperatures reached the low levels that induce torpor and hibernation. Cunner, at least, survived up to 6 mo without food, using glycogen, lipids, and proteins stored in their livers (Curran 1992); tautog may do likewise.
In laboratory experiments, a decrease in feeding was observed with an increase in water temperature above certain levels. Tautog which had been acclimated to temperatures of 19°C and 21°C, respectively, decreased their ingestion of food, when water temperatures were increased to 28.7-33.0°C over a certain amount of days.
Deacutis (1982) found tautog did not have an acute sense of smell for detecting prey, compared to red hake (Urophycis chuss), and were hesitant to explore open bottom to find food they could not see.
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There is much more information in the report, but I just wanted to post a few of items to wet the palate
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