The use of stomach fullness and colour indices to assess Sardina pilchardus feeding

Author(s):  
Maria Emília Cunha ◽  
Susana Garrido ◽  
Joaquim Pissarra

Scales for stomach fullness and colour were developed and calibrated in order to provide an easy and reliable way to determine feeding intensity and food quality in sardines. The categories of the fullness scale reproduce the amount of food intake as indicated by the weight of the stomachs. The levels of the colour scale reflect the type of plankton eaten as shown by concentration of a-type phaeopigments and prey analysis of the stomach contents. Individuals of a wide length range were used in this study, leading us to suggest that these indices can be applied to the entire juvenile and adult sardine population. The use of the colour and fullness scales provides a rapid and efficient means of characterizing sardine feeding. Based on the colour and fullness categories of the stomachs the majority of stomachs were almost empty or at most half-full and the diet was composed of different proportions of phyto- and zooplankton items. As indicated by the prey analyses of the contents the most important constituent of the diet, in volume, were zooplankton prey.

1979 ◽  
Vol 36 (11) ◽  
pp. 1408-1412 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Sosiak ◽  
R. G. Randall ◽  
J. A. McKenzie

Hatchery-reared Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) parr were captured 1–3 mo after release in streams, along with wild parr from the same streams. Identification of their stomach contents showed total number of organisms and number of taxa per stomach were greater and there was a higher index of stomach fullness in wild than in hatchery parr resident ≤ 2 mo in a stream. Wild parr consumed more Brachycentridae, Hydroptilidae, Diptera, and Plecoptera than did hatchery parr, but sometimes less Odontoceridae and Heptageniidae. These differences may have arisen from size-dependent food selection, the effects of feeding experience, or possible microhabitat differences between wild and hatchery parr. Key words: salmon parr, hatchery-reared, wild, feeding


Abstract.—Upon entering marine waters, juvenile Pacific salmon <em>Oncorhynchus </em>spp. depend on feeding at high and sustained levels to achieve growth necessary for survival. In the last decade, several concurrent studies have been examining the food habits and feeding intensity of juvenile Pacific salmon in the shelf regions from California to the northern Gulf of Alaska. In this paper, we compared results from feeding studies for all five species of juvenile salmon (Chinook salmon <em>O. tshawytscha</em>, coho salmon <em>O. kisutch</em>, chum salmon <em>O. keta, </em>sockeye salmon <em>O. nerka</em>, and pink salmon <em>O. gorbuscha</em>) between 2000 and 2002, years when these regions were sampled extensively. Within these years, we temporally stratified our samples to include early (May–July) and late (August–October) periods of ocean migration. Coho and Chinook salmon diets were most similar due to a high consumption of fish prey, whereas pink, chum, and sockeye salmon diets were more variable with no consistently dominant prey taxa. Salmon diets varied more spatially (by oceanographic and regional factors) than temporally (by season or year) in terms of percentage weight or volume of major prey categories. We also examined regional variations in feeding intensity based on stomach fullness (expressed as percent body weight) and percent of empty or overly full stomachs. Stomach fullness tended to be greater off Alaska than off the west coast of the United States, but the data were highly variable. Results from these comparisons provide a large-scale picture of juvenile salmon feeding in coastal waters throughout much of their range, allowing for comparison with available prey resources, growth, and survival patterns associated with the different regions.


2007 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 485-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Cupsa ◽  
Tibor Hartel ◽  
Severus-Daniel Covaciu-Marcov ◽  
István Sas ◽  
Éva-Hajnalka Kovács ◽  
...  

Abstract We examined the diet of Hyla arborea over its entire activity period (March to late September, 2004), and analysed a total of 585 adult samples. From the stomach contents we identified plant remains, shed-skin fragments, and animals. We identified a total of 2976 prey items, almost all of which originated from the terrestrial environment. Adult araneans and coleopterans were the most abundant prey items in the diet of the studied tree frogs. Some of the prey items become abundant in certain parts of the year (e.g. Homoptera, Lepidoptera larvae, Trichoptera). The dietary diversity index is high and exhibits seasonal changes. During the period of study an important seasonal change was observed in feeding intensity and in the type of consumed prey. Our results show that Hyla arborea has a broad dietary diversity which was expected as a consequence of exploiting the habitat both vertically and horizontally, possibly allowing access to a broader spectrum of prey.


2008 ◽  
Vol 154 (6) ◽  
pp. 1053-1065 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susana Garrido ◽  
Rui Rosa ◽  
Radhouan Ben-Hamadou ◽  
Maria Emilia Cunha ◽  
Maria Alexandra Chícharo ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Koshal Kumar ◽  
Anita Rawat Rana ◽  
Chandra Bhanu Kotnala

In this paper the feeding index (FI), Gastro somatic index (GaSI) and Food Prevalence Index (FPI) of freshwater prawn Macrobrachium assamense peninsulare were evaluated to assess the quantity and quality of food preferred by it in the Rawasan stream. A total of 401 prawns were collected during a span of two years from five selected sites in the Rawasan stream of Garhwal in Central Himalaya, India from August 2013 to July 2015. Collected prawns were in the size range of 20-75 mm in males and 24-65 mm in females in total length. The stomach contents of 10 collected specimens were examined monthly and observed that 35% of the stomach was full or semifull and 15% stomach were empty. The highest Gastro somatic value was obtained 2.95±0.80 during June in the male and 3.25±0.44 during May in the female. After that, it gradually decreased in both the sexes and is repeated in cyclic patterns each year. More or less a similar trend was reported in the feeding index value during the study which indicates a significant relationship between feeding intensity and Gastro somatic index. The highest Food Prevalence Index (FPI) was seen as fragments of animal matter in both sexes, which was (88.48) in male and (58.26) in female prawns and the lowest FPI value was sand and debris (7.9 and 5.7) in male and female prawn respectively. The main food items were the fragment of plants as well as animals, diatoms, algae, and sand. Overall, the results show that this prawn is selectively abstemious.


Author(s):  
Denis V Zakharov ◽  
Igor E Manushin ◽  
Tatiana B Nosova ◽  
Natalya A Strelkova ◽  
Valery A Pavlov

Abstract This article investigates the diet of the snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) and its feeding intensity in the Barents Sea. Data show that snow crab has a diverse diet that includes almost all types of benthic invertebrates living in the Barents Sea. There are differences between the diets of females and males and of juveniles and adults. Juveniles and females typically occupy shallow areas with communities of bivalve molluscs, while males typically live deeper on slopes and depressions where polychaetes and crustaceans are the most abundant groups. Stomach contents were analysed to determine the species composition and frequency of occurrence of various benthic taxa. Consumption of food was estimated and compared with data from the Russian seas of the Pacific region. The total annual consumption of macrozoobenthos by snow crab was calculated in accordance with its current distribution in the Barents Sea. Snow crab consumes at least 30 000 tonnes of benthos annually, which amounts to 0.1–0.2% of the total macrozoobenthic biomass in the investigated area. The population of snow crab causes the largest impact on the benthic communities in the northeastern part of the Barents Sea and near the south side of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago.


2001 ◽  
Vol 52 (6) ◽  
pp. 833 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Villarroel ◽  
E. H. Acuña ◽  
M. J. Andrade

Bathymetric distribution and stomach contents of the bigeye flounder captured during November 1995 were analysed. Bathymetric distributional pattern differed among age classes, with younger fish inhabiting shallower waters while older fish occupied all depths sampled. For each sex, the densities were greatest at shallower depths and decreased constantly with depth. Differences in feeding habits with fishing ground, depth and age classes were found. Feeding is characterized by consumption of juvenile squat lobsters Pleuroncodes monodon and Cervimunida johni of 3 mm mean cephalothorax length at 150–300 m depth, and primarily of shrimp Heterocarpus reedi below this range. Young flounders (≤3 years) mainly fed on small prey such as juvenile squat lobsters, whereas flounders >3 years old fed mainly on macrocrustaceans such as H. reedi and to a minor extent on P. monodon and C. johni. Feeding intensity increased with age for each sex, with older females showing a larger food intake rate that was consistent with their higher growth rate in comparison with males.


1982 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Carter ◽  
D. H. Steele

Stomachs of immature lobsters (Homarus americanus) from Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, were examined to determine natural diet. The most frequently occurring prey were sea urchins, mussels, rock crabs, polynoid and nereid polychaetes, and brittlestars. There was high incidence of lobster exuviae during the moulting period in late summer. Rock crabs, brittlestars, and mussels were dominant (in terms of relative volumes of hard parts in each stomach) more often than other food items. Sea urchins, periwinkles, chitons, rock crabs, and polynoids were consumed more frequently in late summer compared with other seasons. Stomach contents constituted approximately 1% of the wet weight of individual lobsters. There were no significant seasonal differences in stomach fullness during the period June to November.The residencies of natural prey hard parts in immature lobster stomachs were estimated. Some items remained in stomachs for up to 180 days. Measures of stomach fullness of lobsters 3 days after ad libitum feeding on rock crabs, mussels, and sea urchins were similar. Linear selection indices indicated relatively high selection by immature lobsters for hard parts of rock crabs and mussels and positive selection for nereids, polynoids, and brittlestars. Immature lobsters showed negative selection for hard parts of sea urchins, starfish, and periwinkles.


Author(s):  
Silvina Van der Molen ◽  
Guillermo Caille

Mustelus schmitti (Carcharhiniformes: Triakidae) studied in the present work were caught incidentally in the shrimp fishery of the south of Bahía Engaño (Patagonia, Argentina). This bay is a shallow water, high productivity coastal area where shrimps and small fish are abundant throughout the warmer months. Young of M. schmitti are found in the bay from late spring to mid autumn. The analysis of stomach contents showed that the young feed mainly on crustaceans; the shrimp Artemesia longinaris being the main prey item. The bay serves as a nursery area for M. schmitti, and the length range and umbilical scars present in all the specimens studied revealed that the individuals were newborns.At Bahía Engaño, fishing trawls in the intertidal and surf zone are common, and ∼80% of the total number of species caught is considered as by-catch. The newborns and juvenile M. schmitti are an important element of this by-catch. Since the reproductive potential of the smoothhound shark is low, the protection of these newborns and juveniles from fishing pressure is of great importance.


2008 ◽  
Vol 354 ◽  
pp. 245-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Garrido ◽  
R Ben-Hamadou ◽  
PB Oliveira ◽  
ME Cunha ◽  
MA Chícharo ◽  
...  

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