Feeding habits of the seahorse Hippocampus patagonicus in San Antonio Bay (Patagonia, Argentina)

The aim of this study was to evaluate the dietary composition of the Patagonian seahorse Hippocampus patagonicus in San Antonio Bay, Patagonia, Argentina. To this end, analyses of stomach and gut contents were carried out and the diet composition was compared to the potential preys available in the natural environment. Samples were collected from different places in San Antonio Bay, a Marine Protected Area in San Matías Gulf. Type and number of prey present in the digestive tracts were registered and frequency of occurrence (%FO) and number of prey (%N) were calculated for each study area. Amphipods (Gammaridae, Caprellidae and Hiperidae) and decapods are the main dietary items of H. patagonicus in San Antonio Bay. There were differences in %FO and %N at different sites, which could indicate differences in abundance and availability of prey in the environment. No dietary differences were detected between sex and size of seahorse (ANOVA, P > 0.05). Results from the present study show that, in nature and probably due to limiting environmental factors, H. patagonicus behaves as an opportunistic predator, which preys on the most abundant and vulnerable species present in the environment.

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Trophic relationships between two gurnards Trigla lucerna and Aspitrigla obscura from the western Mediterranean

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom ◽

10.1017/s0025315400071848 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 77 (2) ◽

pp. 527-537 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

M.S. Morte ◽

M.J. Redon ◽

A. Sanz-Brau

Keyword(s):

Species Composition ◽

Diet Composition ◽

Annual Variation ◽

Feeding Habits ◽

Western Mediterranean ◽

Trophic Relationships ◽

Frequency Of Occurrence ◽

Dietary Overlap ◽

Feeding Types ◽

Food Items

The feeding habits of Trigla lucerna L. (1758) and Aspitrigla obscura L. (1764) (Pisces: Triglidae), off the coast of the Gulf of Valencia (Spain), were investigated between October 1989 and January 1991. The two species examined in this study appear to have distinct feeding types, based on the species composition of prey and the frequency of occurrence of major food items. Tub gurnard had a more diverse diet and fed mainly on crustaceans (mysids and decapods), teleosts and molluscs, whilst long fin gurnard were less piscivorous and fed mainly on mysids and natantids. No significant differences were found in the annual variation of vacuity coefficient for either species. Diet composition in these species did not show great changes with either season and size of fish. There was little dietary overlap between these two species.

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Rainy Season Food Availability for Anurans of Kimboza Forest Reserve, Tanzania

Asian Journal of Biology ◽

10.9734/ajob/2021/v12i430170 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 15-25

Author(s):

Nsajigwa Emmanuel Mbije ◽

Asha Kamungu

Keyword(s):

Food Availability ◽

Rainy Season ◽

Diet Composition ◽

Feeding Habits ◽

Gut Contents ◽

Generalist Predators ◽

Forest Reserve ◽

Significant Difference ◽

To Come ◽

Prey Items

Amphibians are mostly considered to be generalist predators. Some species have a narrow diet or even specialize on certain prey categories. An assessment of the feeding habits of anuran species of Kimboza forest reserve, Tanzania was conducted during rainy season between March 2017 and June 2017. Through a visual encounter survey, 93 species were captured and analyzed for gut contents. About 462 prey items were identified the most abundant component being Isoptera and Hymenoptera. There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in the anurans’ diet (composition or diversity or preferences) among different habitats of the forest (along boundaries and within the forest) but significant difference (P < 0.05) was found between the upper Stratum and the lower Stratum of the forest. The study provides a preliminary estimation of the actual diet of anurans and establishes a general feeding pattern for these species for the management of the Kimboza forest reserve. The study recommends the intensification of similar assessments in the nearby forest areas to come up with a complete description of the feeding habits for management purposes.

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Food and feeding habits ofCaranx crysosfrom the Gulf of Gabès (Tunisia)

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom ◽

10.1017/s0025315409000265 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 89 (7) ◽

pp. 1375-1380 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Ayda Sley ◽

Othman Jarboui ◽

Mohamed Ghorbel ◽

Abderrahmen Bouain

Keyword(s):

Feeding Habits ◽

Stomach Contents ◽

Frequency Of Occurrence ◽

Gulf Of Gabes ◽

Gulf Of Gabès ◽

Important Prey ◽

Gill Net ◽

Numerical Abundance ◽

Opportunistic Predator ◽

Food And Feeding

The diet of blue runnerCaranx crysos(Carangidae) in the Gulf of Gabès (Tunisia, Mediterranean) is described from analysis of stomach contents (N = 1668 fish). The majority of samples were obtained from commercial purse seine and gill-net catches. The index of vacuity (%VI) was relatively high (58.7%) and differed significantly across months. Blue runner is an opportunistic predator that consumes mostly pelagic organisms, with benthic prey representing only a small proportion of the diet. The diet was quantified using the frequency of occurrence (%F), numerical abundance (%N), weight (%W) and the index of relative importance (IRI and %IRI) for each prey taxa.The most important prey categories were teleosts (%IRI = 83.4) and crustaceans (%IRI = 16.6), with molluscs only observed occasionally (%IRI < 0.1). Fish were also the dominant food items in both terms of weight (89.60%) and frequency of occurrence (82.44%). In terms of numerical abundance, crustaceans were the most abundant prey (78.07%). Ontogenetic and seasonal differences in the diet were observed, although there was no difference between the diets of males and females.

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Biodiversity, feeding habits and reproductive strategies of benthic macrofauna in a protected area of the northern Adriatic Sea: a three-year study

Mediterranean Marine Science ◽

10.12681/mms.1897 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 292 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

F. NASI ◽

R. AURIEMMA ◽

E. BONSDORFF ◽

T. CIBIC ◽

I. F. ALEFFI ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Protected Area ◽

Marine Protected Area ◽

Feeding Habits ◽

Food Sources ◽

Northern Adriatic Sea ◽

Microalgal Biomass ◽

Northern Adriatic ◽

Gulf Of Trieste ◽

Fresh Organic Matter ◽

Macrozoobenthic Community

The macrozoobenthic community at a sublittoral station located in the Marine Protected Area of Miramare, Gulf of Trieste (Italy) was investigated monthly from June 2002 to July 2005. Community variables were studied and related to food sources (particulate, total and biopolymeric carbon contents, benthic microalgae and meiofauna). In addition, the macrofaunal response to a heatwave that occurred in summer 2003 in the area was also explored. Univariate and multivariate analyses highlighted that the macrozoobenthic community structure shifted towards the end of the study. Diversity remained fairly stable throughout the study, despite the high turnover values. From a dominance of short-lived invertebrates related to irregular fresh organic matter inputs, the community shifted toward long-lived taxa, principally related to an increase of biopolymeric C and microalgal biomass. Semelparous invertebrates seem to be less resistant to high temperatures compared to iteroparous ones. The latter proved to be capable competitors since they prevailed over the semelparous species towards the end of the study.The community exhibited a certain degree of resistance to high temperature, due to the adaptation of the macrofaunal invertebrates to this particular stress, induced by the wide natural fluctuations in temperature that occur on a seasonal basis in the Gulf of Trieste. This study highlights the importance of long datasets to assess the state and ecological processes of the macrofaunal communities.

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Seagrass amphipod assemblages in a Mediterranean marine protected area: a multiscale approach

Marine Ecology Progress Series ◽

10.3354/meps10776 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 506 ◽

pp. 175-192 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

N Sturaro ◽

G Lepoint ◽

A Pérez-Perera ◽

S Vermeulen ◽

P Panzalis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Protected Area ◽

Marine Protected Area ◽

Multiscale Approach

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Habitat use of toothed whales in a marine protected area based on point process models

Marine Ecology Progress Series ◽

10.3354/meps12820 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 609 ◽

pp. 239-256 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

TL Silva ◽

G Fay ◽

TA Mooney ◽

J Robbins ◽

MT Weinrich ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Habitat Use ◽

Point Process ◽

Protected Area ◽

Marine Protected Area ◽

Process Models ◽

Point Process Models

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Utilizing next-generation sequencing to identify prey DNA in western North Atlantic grey seal Halichoerus grypus diet

Marine Ecology Progress Series ◽

10.3354/meps13520 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 655 ◽

pp. 227-240

Author(s):

KR Flanders ◽

ZH Olson ◽

KA Ono

Keyword(s):

Next Generation Sequencing ◽

Feeding Habits ◽

Atlantic Menhaden ◽

Halichoerus Grypus ◽

Frequency Of Occurrence ◽

Grey Seal ◽

Next Generation ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Generation Sequencing ◽

Seal Diet

Increasing grey seal Halichoerus grypus abundance in coastal New England is leading to social, political, economic, and ecological controversies. Central to these issues is the foraging ecology and diet composition of the seals. We studied grey seal feeding habits through next-generation sequencing of prey DNA using 16S amplicons from seal scat (n = 74) collected from a breeding colony on Monomoy Island in Massachusetts, USA, and report frequency of occurrence and relative read abundance. We also assigned seal sex to scat samples using a revised PCR assay. In contrast to current understanding of grey seal diet from hard parts and fatty acid analysis, we found no significant difference between male and female diet measured by alpha and beta diversity. Overall, we detected 24 prey groups, 18 of which resolved to species. Sand lance Ammodytes spp. were the most frequently consumed prey group, with a frequency of occurrence (FO) of 97.3%, consistent with previous studies, but Atlantic menhaden Brevoortia tyrannus, the second most frequently consumed species (FO = 60.8%), has not previously been documented in US grey seal diet. Our results suggest that a metabarcoding approach to seal food habits can yield important new ecological insights, but that traditional hard parts analysis does not underestimate consumption of Atlantic cod Gadus morhua (FO = 6.7%, Gadidae spp.) and salmon Salmo salar (FO = 0%), 2 particularly valuable species of concern.

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