Flatfish species are an important target for fisheries. During their juvenile stage they concentrate in coastal
nursery areas. Food conditions in these areas are an important factor determining habitat quality and ultimate
survival. Recently, growth reduction in summer has been observed in plaice, Pleuronectes platessa, feeding on
both epibenthic and benthic prey. In the current study, we test the hypothesis that summer growth reduction is a
consequence of a reduced availability of benthic prey by analysing summer growth in a fully benthic feeding
flatfish, juvenile sole (Solea solea). Summer growth was studied for contrasting years with respect to preceding
winter water temperature conditions to exclude possible irreversible non-genetic adaptations of growth to water
temperature. Individual growth, estimated from otolith daily rings, was compared with predictions of maximum
growth at the prevailing temperature. In line with expectations, 0-group sole showed strong summer growth
reduction, supporting the notion that summer growth reduction is related to feeding modes. Summer growth
reduction underlines the importance of a good definition of how and over what time period growth as indicator
of habitat quality is estimated and compared.
