Measurements and regressions of California Current prey size and hard parts and otolith morphometrics

Prey hard parts are used to reconstruct species composition and prey sizes from analyses of scats or stomachs of many marine predators. Measurements of prey hard parts are often closely related to prey size, allowing estimation of lengths and weights of prey consumed. In addition, otolith morphometrics, such as length, weight, and surface area, are related to otolith survival in predator digestive tracts and may thus help predict recovery rates in scats. Measurements were taken of prey hard part dimensions, additional morphometrics for otoliths, and/or prey size (length and weight) of reference specimens for 158 prey species found in the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem (CCLME), including 137 teleosts, twelve cephalopods, two batoids, one decapod, one myxinid, and one tunicate. Regression relationships of prey size to hard part measurements, among different prey hard part measurements (e.g., otolith length to width), and among different prey size measurements (e.g., weight to length) are provided for most species to facilitate application of these data to reconstruction of predator diets in the CCLME.