A NEW, ORIGINAL TROPHIC RELATIONSHIP IN THE LAKE BAIKAL ECOSYSTEM: THE PELAGIC AMPHIPOD, MACROHECTOPUS BRANICKII (CRUSTACEA, AMPHIPODA) AND MYOTIS PETAX BATS(MAMMALIA, CHIROPTERA)
The feeding of the trawling insectivorous bat, Myotis petax Hollister 1912, on the Baikal pelagic amphipod, Macrohectopus branickii (Dybowsky 1874), which migrate to the water surface at night, is described. Mass accumulations of M. branickii rise into the upper water layer along a steep underwater slope. The bats touch the surface of the water and capture the amphipods at the moment of their contact with the water-air interface. These food relationships of pelagic organisms with terrestrial vertebrates complement the picture of the trophic net in the ancient and deep Lake Baikal.