Stomach contents in Baltic fourhorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus quadricornis L.) with normal and deformed spinal vertebrae

In the northern part of the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Bothnia, fourhorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus quadricornis) is one of the dominant fish species. A considerable proportion of the population (up to 54% of fish in gill net catches) have been reported to have spinal deformations, with a higher frequency in polluted than in clean areas. The stomach content of sculpins with normal and with severely deformed backbone were compared, but no statistically significant differences were revealed. The diet was generally dominated by the isopod Mesidotea entomon and three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus).