Why is it beneficial that many predatory fish have larval and juvenile stages that feed at a low trophic level, while the adults feed at a tertiary or quaternary trophic level?
3. Why is it beneficial that many predatory fish have larval and juvenile stages that
Predators generally need to be larger than their prey, and they need some ability to trap or capture prey. Newly-emerged fish are small, they do not have good swimming skills, and since most fish do not have teeth, they can't eat anything larger than their mouth - not much food available with all of these limitations unless you can eat algae, plankton, or detritus.