Feeding habits ofEucinostomus entomelasandMicropogonias megalopsin Las Guasimas lagoon Gulf of California

2014 ◽  
Vol 94 (8) ◽  
pp. 1721-1729
Author(s):  
Dana I. Arizmendi-Rodríguez ◽  
J. López-Martínez ◽  
E. Herrera-Valdivia

The trophic spectrum of bothEucinostomus entomelasandMicropogonias megalops, the two most abundant fish species in Laguna Las Guásimas, Sonora, México is described in our study. A total of 21 types of prey were identified belonging to seven taxonomic groups (Crustacea, Mollusca, Annelida, Rhodophyta, Copepoda, Echinodermata and Chordata) to analyse the feeding spectra and diet breadth. The preferred prey items ofEucinostomus entomelas(Dark-spot mojarra) were Polichaeta (index of relative importance = 46.7%), followed by bivalves(36.6%), andLuidia columbia (5.6%), while those ofMicropogonias megalops(Bigeye croaker) were Portunidae (22.8%) followed by Gammaridae (20.55%) and Crustacea (18.37%). The trophic spectrum for maleE. entomelawas composed of Bivalvia and Polychaeta. Both predators showed low values in diet breadth (E. entomelas(Levin's indexBi = 0.14) andM. megalops(Levins's indexBi = 0.43)). The low trophic overlap (Cλ = 0.14) between predators suggests that both fish are not competing with each other for food resources in Laguna Las Guásimas.

1998 ◽  
Vol 49 (7) ◽  
pp. 753 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. R. Heupel ◽  
M. B. Bennett

The diet and feeding habits of the epaulette shark, Hemiscyllium ocellatum, were investigated through stomach content analysis. Five groups of prey items were found. The index of relative importance showed worms and crabs to be of greatest value at 51.3% and 40.1% respectively. The three minor prey groups were shrimps (7.7%), small fishes (0.7%) and amphipods (0.3%). Epaulette sharks tend to be crepuscular, although feeding bouts may occur at any time. They appear to be opportunistic predators, using olfaction and electroreception in prey capture. This species appears to be an important benthic predator in the reef flat environment on Heron Island Reef.


2000 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 91 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. TERRATS ◽  
G. PETRAKIS ◽  
C. PAPACONSTANTINOU

The feeding habits of the three most abundant gurnard species, red gurnard (Aspitrigla cuculus), large scale gurnard (Lepidotrigla cavillone) and rock gurnard (Trigloporus lastoviza) in the eastern Mediterranean (Dodecanese and Cyclades, Greece) are examined. The stomach contents of the gurnard specimens collected in April and September 1996 by bottom trawling were analyzed. The % frequency of occurrence, % number and % weight of prey types in the stomach contents were evaluated. By weight, Mysidacea and Decapoda dominated in the diet of the three species in both seasons, however the Index of Relative Importance, as well as the percentage frequency of occurrence varied. Rock gurnard presented the most diverse diet whereas the diet of large scale and red gurnard were more specialized. High overlap in terms of number was found between rock and large scale gurnard in May. Rock gurnard had the most divers diet in both seasons.


Author(s):  
Andreza Da Silva Nascimento ◽  
Jonas De Assis Almeida Ramos

<p>The knowledge of natural fish feeding is important to understand the species feeding habits and how they interact with the environment. In addition to that, this kind of research can provide relevant data to improve the capture of these animals, considering their economy and social importance. This study aimed to analyze the food composition of Larimus breviceps specimens from the northern coast of Cabedelo city, evaluating the importance of each food item for their diet. The specimens came from the local artisanal fisheries. In laboratory, the individuals were identified, measured and dissected to remove the stomachs content and then examined. Three different analyzes were performed, percentage by frequency of occurrence, by number and by weight, then the index of relative importance (IRI%) was computed. In total, 30 stomachs were analyzed, 15 distinct food items were identified, the most representative prey were fish fragments, Copepoda, Gammaridae, Decapoda (shrimp), algal fragments and synthetic material. Given the results, the diet of this species becomes more diversified as young individuals reach the adults size, and ingest marine debris which indicates an anthropogenic impact.</p>


1969 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 1025-1050 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Bédard

The feeding habits of three plankton-feeding Alcidae, the least, crested, and parakeet auklets were studied on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, between 1964 and 1966. The crested and the least auklets (Aethia cristatella, A. pusilla) exhibit similar patterns of dependence upon the food resources: both have, during early summer, a diversified diet consisting of mysids, hyperiids, gammarids, etc., but restrict themselves largely to one principal prey during the chick-rearing period. Then, A. pusilla eats mostly Calanus sp. while A. cristatella eats Thysanoessa spp. In all years, hatching coincided closely with the appearance of these prey items (copepods and euphausids) in the environment and it is argued that the timing of the auklets' breeding season has been adjusted to their cyclical abundance. Cyclorrhynchus psittacula, the parakeet auklet, maintains a diversified diet throughout the summer: Parathemisto libellula, a pelagic amphipod, is the dominant prey in its diet.The three species are found feeding together and are presumed to use the same depth range. Segregation in feeding between A. cristatella and A. pusilla is achieved by difference in bill size. This difference is sufficient to impose obligatory feeding upon different resources. Segregation between two possible competitors, A. cristatella and Cyclorrhynchus, seems to rest upon innate preferences for different prey types, minor structural differences in the feeding apparatus, and differences in foraging habits: the relative importance of each of these factors remains to be established.As a whole, the amount of overlap in feeding between the three species studied is very small.


2001 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Y. MUTO ◽  
L. S. H. SOARES ◽  
R. GOITEIN

The feeding habits of Rioraja agassizii (syn. Raja agassizii) and Psammobatis extenta (syn. Psammobatis glansdissimilis) of the South-eastern Brazilian coast were studied by means of stomach content analysis. The samples were obtained on eight seasonal oceanographic cruises, carried out between October 1985 and July 1987. The importance of each food item was evaluated on the basis of the Index of Relative Importance and the feeding similarity by Percentage of Similarity. The results indicated that both species are benthic feeders, preying mainly on Crustacea, especially Amphipoda, Caridea and Brachyura. Teleostei were also important for R. agassizii. Seasonal variation of the diet seems to be associated with the availability of the prey, whose distribution and abundance are related to the dynamics of the water masses of the region. Juveniles and adults of P. extenta exploited the same resources while juveniles and adults of R. agassizii presented low diet similarity during most of the year. Caridea were an important food for all length classes of R. agassizii, while Amphipoda were for smaller specimens, and Teleostei for larger ones. The feeding overlap between the two species was higher during autumn 1986, winter 1986 and winter 1987.


2017 ◽  
Vol 98 (6) ◽  
pp. 1513-1524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofía Ortega Garcia ◽  
Dana I. Arizmendi-Rodríguez ◽  
Marcela S. Zúñiga-Flores

The stomach contents of 1261 striped marlins caught from 2007 to 2010 by the sport-fishing fleet of Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico, were analysed, taking into account sea surface temperatures estimated using satellite images of the study area and the Oceanic Niño Index (ONI). The analysis allowed the identification of three anomalously cold periods during 2007, 2008 and 2010 and a warm period in 2009. The stomach content results showed 89 different prey items eaten during the study period. Of the specimens captured, 868 (69%) stomachs contained food items. The most important prey items were cephalopods (Dosidicus gigas and Argonauta spp.) and fish (Scomber japonicus, Selar crumenophthalmus and Sardinops caeruleus). Despite having a broad trophic spectrum, the striped marlin was classified as a specialist consumer, with Bi = 0.03. Based on the diet breadth value and the prey-specific index of relative importance (PSIRI), the jumbo squid, D. gigas, was the main prey species, coinciding with cold periods. On the other hand, the fishes S. caeruleus and S. japonicus showed the highest PSIRI values during the 2009 warm anomalies. Analysis of similarity showed the formation of four groups in relation to PSIRI values. According to a non-metric multidimensional scaling ordination, these groups were formed with a similarity of 30% and a stress of 0.17. These results demonstrate inter-annual variation in the diet as well as in the availability and abundance of prey items.


2013 ◽  
Vol 93 (8) ◽  
pp. 2207-2216 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.E. Delpiani ◽  
M.C. Spath ◽  
D.E. Figueroa

The feeding ecology of the southern thorny skate,Amblyraja doellojuradoi, on the Argentine Continental Shelf was evaluated using generalized linear models.Amblyraja doellojuradoipreyed mainly on crabs (85.41% index of relative importance (IRI)) and to a lesser extent on polychaetes (4.98% IRI), teleosts (3.28% IRI), isopods (2.03% IRI), other crustaceans (1.52% IRI) and other invertebrates (2.78% IRI). As individuals increased in size, the consumption of crabs also increased and the consumption of polychaetes and other invertebrates decreased. The study area was divided into a northern (36°–43°S) and a southern (43°–50°S) region. Regarding the latitude of capture, it was observed thatA. doellojuradoimainly fed on crabs in the north and on fish, isopods and other crustaceans in the south. Females ofA. doellojuradoihad a stronger preference for fish and isopods than males. As to sexual maturity, immatures fed more on polychaetes and other crustaceans than did mature. The ontogenetic change in feeding habits could be attributed to body size and an increasing ability to capture larger prey, rather than to food availability. However, this point cannot be confirmed because little is known about the benthic fauna of this area.


2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-74
Author(s):  
W. O. ABDUL ◽  
I. T. OMONIYI ◽  
A. O. AGBON ◽  
F. I. ADEOSUN ◽  
O. S. OLOWE ◽  
...  

The food and feeding habits of eight (8) fish species Elops lacerta, Chrysichthys auratus, Schilbe mys-tus, Sardinella maderensis, Synodontis schall, Hepsetus odoe, Tilapia zillii and Mugil cephalus in Ogun estuary, Ogun State, Nigeria were studied and estimated for six months, between February and July, 2014. A total of 470 fishes were randomly collected from the commercial fishermen during the study. Results from the stomach contents analysed using frequency of occurrence and numerical methods showed that S. mystus, E. lacerta, S. maderensis, H. odoe, S. schall, T. zillii, M. cephalus and C. auratus were predators, piscivores, herbivores, piscivores, omnivores, herbivores, herbivores and omnivores respectively while H. odoe and S.mystus partly fed on E. lacerta and T. zillii respec-tively. The Diet Breadth (D) ranged from 0.76 to 0.88 and the percentage Gut Repletion Index (GRI), a reflection of frequency of feeding, ranged between 60-100%.


Author(s):  
Raouf Zaidi ◽  
Farid Derbal ◽  
M. Hichem Kara

The diet of the goldblotch grouper Epinephelus costae of the eastern coast of Algeria was studied from March 2011 to February 2012. A total of 275 individuals, whose total length varied between 21.1 and 79.79 cm and weight between 103.13 and 5390.00 g, were examined. The index of relative importance (%IRI) combining the three main descriptors of the presence of different ingested prey (%F, %N, %W) was used to characterize the relative importance of different food taxa. Qualitative and quantitative variations in diet were studied according to sexual maturity (immature and mature), sex (male and female), size (small, medium and large) and seasons. The average annual digestive vacuity is 17.82%. It does not vary according to sex, size or maturity, but is different between summer and winter. Qualitative analysis of digestive contents reveals a fairly diverse range of predation with 319 prey counted for a total weight of 934.85 g, which corresponds to an average number (Nm) and weight (Wm) of 1.4 and 4.14 g respectively. This species feeds on benthopelagic prey composed mainly of bony fish (%IRI = 76.16), pancrustacea (%IRI = 16.14) and molluscs (%IRI = 6.24). All other prey were accessory (plants) or accidental (annelids). Significant differences in feeding habits occur according to seasons and fish size.


2016 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
P. P. Manojkumar ◽  
P. P. Pavithran

Composition of the diet of greater lizardfish Saurida tumbil (Bloch, 1795), caught from northern Kerala, south-west coast of India was studied and described. The stomachs of 1981 specimens were collected between January, 2012 and June, 2014. Analysis of stomach contents based on index of relative importance (IRI) revealed that this species is exclusively piscivorous. Contrary to other benthic predators of the study area, it mainly feeds on pelagic and demersal fishes(IRI = 63.2), molluscs (IRI = 17.86), crustaceans (IRI = 18.33) and other miscellaneous items (IRI = 2.54). The diet of S. tumbil were found to be related to the seasonal availability of resources, occurrence of juveniles of certain species and on the migration of fishes from nearby places to the study area. Significant changes in prey items were observed between predator length groups, but a positive, significant relationship was recorded between prey size and predator size (p<0.05). Statistical analysis indicated a uniform representation of different diets in the stomach. Maximum similarity in diet between different food items was found in April and November.


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