scholarly journals Feeding Habits of the Non-Native Mayan Cichlid, Mayaheros urophthalmus, in Estuarine Tributaries of Southwest Florida

2021 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 57-66
Author(s):  
Copley Smoak ◽  
Jeffrey Schmid
Keyword(s):  
Benthic Invertebrates ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Dietary Analysis ◽  
Southwest Florida ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Importance Index ◽  
Opportunistic Predator ◽  
Mayan Cichlid

Foraging habits of the non—native Mayan Cichlid (Mayaheros urophthalmus) were investigated in the tidal tributaries to the Estero Bay and Wiggins Pass estuaries in southwest Florida (USA) during 2011—2013. Dietary analysis was conducted by identifying contents in the digestive tracts of 747 fish and volumetrically measuring the food items. Detritus was the predominant food item by frequency (97–100%), volume (34–48%), and alimentary importance index (47–64%). Bivalves, gastropods, decapod and cirriped crustaceans, coleopterans, serpulid polychaetes, and fish scales frequently (>50%) occurred in samples but volume and importance differed among tributaries. Results indicate that the Mayan Cichlid in southwest Florida tidal tributaries is an opportunistic predator of hard—shelled invertebrates. Although there was considerable overlap in dietary composition, percent volume of food items was significantly different among tributaries during dry seasons. In each tributary, detritus was consumed in greater percentage during the dry season and benthic invertebrates were consumed in greater percentages during the wet season. Consumption of detritus, algae, and plant material may be incidental to predation on benthic invertebrates but more information is needed on digestion and assimilation of food items. Variability in diet among the tributaries in the current study and among other studies was presumably a function of habitat characteristics and the corresponding availability of prey types.

scholarly journals Feeding habit of Eigenmannia trilineata Lopez & Castello, 1966 (Teleostei: Sternopygidae) of Parque Estadual de Itapuã, RS, Brazil

2005 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Júlia Giora ◽  
Clarice B. Fialho ◽  
Ana Paula S. Dufech
Keyword(s):  
Electric Fish ◽  
Condition Factor ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Feeding Activity ◽  
Reproductive Period ◽  
Weakly Electric Fish ◽  
Frequency Variation ◽  
Dietary Analysis ◽  
Food Items

This study aims to describe the feeding habits of a population of the weakly electric fish Eigenmannia trilineata from Southern Brazil through the monthly frequency variation of replection (RI) and hepatosomatic (HSI) indexes, condition factor (CF) and dietary analysis of the species, besides the comparison of the results with abiotic factors. We collected 428 specimens from June/2002 to May/2003 with a dip net and electric fish detector. Stomach contents were analyzed using three measurements: frequency of occurrence of food items, percentage composition per prey type and feeding importance index. Microcrustacea and autochthonous insects were the dominant food items in the stomachs of E. trilineata. The adults (males larger than 63.5 mm and females larger than 80.5 mm) exhibited little alteration in their diet during the reproductive period and ingested more variety of food items. The RI of males, but not females, showed peaks before and after the reproductive period, having significant correlation with the HSI. Condition factor was more influenced by stomach weight in males and by the gonad weight in females. No correlation between abiotic factors and feeding activity was identified.

scholarly journals Foraging behavior and diet of the vulnerable Cinereous Warbling-finch Poospiza cinerea (Aves, Emberizidae)

2014 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 821-827 ◽  
Author(s):  
U Wischhoff ◽  
F Marques-Santos ◽  
M Rodrigues
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Foraging Behavior ◽  
Rare Species ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Reproductive Organs ◽  
Substrate Use ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Niche Specialization ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Central South

The Cinereous Warbling-finch Poospiza cinerea is a globally vulnerable Emberizidae passerine, patchily distributed and rare in the open savannah of central South America. Attributes of rare species include niche specificity such as feeding habits. To verify possible niche specialization in this species we aimed to describe its foraging habits related to substrate use, foraging and substrate height, attack maneuvers, and consumed food items. We monitored two groups at two study sites and sampled foraging events with intervals of 15 minutes. The substrates used in greater frequency were foliage and reproductive organs. Foraging and substrate height varied widely with study area. The attack maneuver adopted in greater frequency was glean. Most food items attacked were small invertebrates. Big invertebrates included Lepidoptera, Hemiptera, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera and Orthoptera. Poospiza cinerea was also recorded foraging in mixed bird flocks with seven other species. The generalist foraging behavior of the species cannot be associate to its rarity.

Trophic ecology and diet of Hydra vulgaris (Cnidaria; Hydrozoa)

2017 ◽  
Vol 67 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 287-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
María I. Deserti ◽  
Karina S. Esquius ◽  
Alicia H. Escalante ◽  
Fabián H. Acuña
Keyword(s):  
Nutritional Value ◽  
Trophic Ecology ◽  
Buenos Aires ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Buenos Aires Province ◽  
Hydra Vulgaris ◽  
Natural Diet ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Invertebrate Prey

Hydra is a genus of common, sessile, solitary freshwater cnidarians, which are defined as carnivorous and efficient predators. The purpose of this study was to obtain information on the feeding habits and diet of Hydra vulgaris collected from its natural habitat in Nahuel Rucá Lake (Buenos Aires Province, Argentina). We found three categories of food items in the coelenteron: algae, fungi, and small invertebrates. Algae dominated the diet in terms of abundance and frequency of occurrence, but their volumetric contribution was almost negligible, as was their possible nutritional value. Invertebrate prey captured, using active predation, represented the major volumetric contribution, with four different taxa found. The detection of phytoplankton in the gastral cavities reveals the input of some organisms present in the surrounding waters in addition to the invertebrates. This information is novel, since studies on the natural diet of Hydra are very scarce.

scholarly journals Feeding habits of Cocobolo Andinoacara pulcher in the cienaga Grande de Lorica, Colombia

2016 ◽  
pp. 5189-5197
Author(s):  
Charles W Olaya-Nieto ◽  
Liquey Camargo-Herrera ◽  
Vanessa Díaz-Sajonero ◽  
Fredys F Segura-Guevara
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Stomach Content ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Frequency Of Occurrence ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Food Groups ◽  
Total Length ◽  
Length Relationship ◽  
Importance Index ◽  
Gut Length

ABSTRACTObjective. The feeding habits of Cocobolo (Andinoacara pulcher) in the cienaga Grande de Lorica, Sinu river basin, were studied. Materials and methods. The stomach content was analyzed using the Proportion of empty stomachs, Grade of digestion, Frequency of occurrence, numerical Frequency, Gravimetry, relative importance Index (RII) and the gut length-total length relationship. Results. 39.8% of stomachs were empty, 47.1% of preys were fresh and five food groups were identified. Vegetable remains was the most frequent group (63.8%) and the prey with greatest composition in weight (33.5%), while Rest of fishes was the most abundant group (34.7%). It was observed that in low and rising waters, fishes was the most consumed prey, while that in high and falling waters the most consumed prey was vegetable remains. Vegetable remains, detritus and fishes were food groups of secondary relative importance, while Insects and Others were circumstantial or incidental groups. Conclusions. The results achieved indicate that Cocobolo is a fish with omnivores feeding habits with a preference for fishes and vegetable remains. RESUMEN Objetivo. Se estudiaron los hábitos alimentarios de Cocobolo (Andinoacara pulcher) en la ciénaga Grande de Lorica, cuenca del río Sinú, Colombia. Materiales y Métodos. El contenido estomacal se evaluó con el Coeficiente de vacuidad, Grado de llenado, Grado de digestión, Frecuencia de ocurrencia, Frecuencia numérica, Gravimetría, Índice de importancia relativa y la relación longitud intestinal- longitud total. Resultados. El 39.8% de los estómagos se encontró vacío, el 47.1% de las presas en estado fresco y se identificaron cinco grupos alimentarios. Material vegetal fue el grupo más frecuente (63.8%) y con mayor composición por peso (33.5%), mientras que Restos de peces fue el más abundante (34.7%). Se observó que en aguas bajas y en aguas ascendentes, peces fue la presa más consumida, mientras que en aguas altas y aguas descendentes, fue material vegetal. Material vegetal, detritos y restos de peces fueron grupos alimentarios de importancia relativa secundaria, mientras que insectos y otros fueron circunstanciales o incidentales. Conclusiones. Los resultados alcanzados indican que Cocobolo es un pez de hábitos alimentarios omnívoros con preferencia por peces y material vegetal.

scholarly journals Seasonal variation on diet of juvenile Elops saurus Linnaeus, 1766 (Ladyfish) in the Parnaiba River Delta

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiane Araujo Santos ◽  
Thamires Souza Gonçalves ◽  
Patricia Silva do Nascimento ◽  
Cézar Augusto Freire Fernandes ◽  
Francisca Edna de Andrade Cunha
Keyword(s):  
High Frequency ◽  
Rainy Season ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
River Delta ◽  
Frequency Of Occurrence ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Dry Period ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Importance Index

Abstract: Aim Identify seasonal variations in the diet of juvenile living in the estuary of the Parnaíba River Delta. Methods Food items were identified through analysis of stomach contents, and later submitted to analysis by regular methods for Frequency of Occurrence (FO), Frequency Numerical (FN), Gravimetric Frequency (FW) and Relative Importance Index (IRI). Results Juvenile diet of Elops saurus that inhabit the lagoons in the Parnaíba delta was composed in order decreasing of importance by Osteichthyes (Teleostei), Insecta and Crustacea in addition to Polychaeta and Nematoda. It was also observed a high frequency of occurrence of fragments of plastics in the diet. In the rainy season, 17 items were recorded in the diet, whereas in the dry season only 7 items were present. Relative Importance Index showed high presence of the Teleostei fish (69.93%) on diet of E. saurus during the rainy season, whereas during the dry period the insects of the families Corixidae (43.25%) and Dysticidae (39.16%). Conclusions With the study it was possible to identify that juvenile are piscivorous in the rainy season when there is a higher availability of prey in the environment and insectivores in the dry season when it reduces the supply of food, indicating feeding flexibility to environmental alterations.

Testing for longitudinal zonation of macroinvertebrate fauna along a small upland headwater stream in two seasons

Biologia ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 71 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Milan Lehotský ◽  
Zuzana Pastuchová ◽  
Eva Bulánková ◽  
Igor Kokavec
Keyword(s):  
Benthic Invertebrates ◽  
Total Dissolved Solids ◽  
Headwater Stream ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Sampling Point ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Dissolved Solids ◽  
Measuring Device ◽  
Longitudinal Zonation

AbstractThe effect of longitudinal zonation patterns and macroinvertebrate responses to changes in habitat characteristics have been given a lot of attention. But studies of changes in macroinvertebrate assemblages along small upland undisturbed watercourses are still lacking. The aim of the study is to analyse variability in macroinvertebrate communities between two different habitats/morphological sequences – shallow (riffle/run/step/) and deeper (pool) channel-bed morphological units on the background of the environmental parameters (local relief, slope, channel confinement ratio, channel-valley walls connectivity, floodplain continuity and channel abut, channel sinuosity and predominant land cover of riparian zone) of seven valley segments (functional process zones) in two seasons of the year (spring and autumn). The longitudinal-downstream gradient research was conducted on the semi-natural upland headwater brook in the Little Carpathians (9,330 m long, average gradient 2.8%) at 15 morphological sequences (30 sampling points). Each sampling point in spring as well as in autumn was characterised by mean flow velocity, discharge, water depth, channel width, channel bottom particle size, and flow types. Selected physico-chemical variables: pH, dissolved oxygen content (DO), oxygen saturation (DO %), temperature (t) conductivity and total dissolved solids (TDS) were measured directly in the field using the multisonde measuring device. Organisms were identified into the family level. The results showed that differences in zonation of benthic invertebrates between seasons are more apparent than seasonal variability between pools and riffles. Spring samples followed the increasing gradient of total dissolved solids downstream with characteristic families for upper and lower stretch. The disruption of macroinvertebrates zonation was more evident in autumn samples with greatest effects in pools. Based on RDA, the distribution of families was driven by three significant variables in riffles and four in pools. Alike environmental factors of pool sequences in the middle and upper reaches were responsible for similarity in macroinvertebrate structure. In conclusion, the distribution pattern of benthic invertebrates of the natural part of the small headwater stream in terms of abundance of macroinvertebrate families followed the longitudinal zonation in spring, but in autumn were the local habitat conditions more important.

Biology and Management of Dogfish Sharks

2009 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Pacific Coast ◽  
Puget Sound ◽  
Squalus Acanthias ◽  
Spiny Dogfish ◽  
Dietary Analysis ◽  
Strait Of Georgia ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Abundance Estimates ◽  
Commercial Species

Abstract.—Spiny dogfish <em>Squalus acanthias </em>have been an important commercial species on Canada’s Pacific coast for more than 130 years. In this study we show that the spiny dogfish life history results in juveniles remaining in pelagic waters for 10–15 years after birth, with lengths up to about 60 cm. Abundance estimates show that the numbers of these young dogfish, as well as some older dogfish in the pelagic waters, appear to represent a relatively large percentage of the population in these two regions. Dietary analysis shows that while euphausiids and teleosts constitute the major food items, regardless of size/age, dogfish feed on a number of species within the ecosystem. After about 15 years, there is a movement into demersal habitats where individuals eventually mature. Because dogfish are long lived, and because they are found throughout the pelagic zone and demersal habitats, it is probable that they play a key role in the Strait of Georgia and Puget Sound ecosystems.

scholarly journals Food Habits and Diet Relationship in the Redbelly Tilapia (Tilapia zillii) and Guenther’s Mouthbrooder (Chromidotilapia guntheri) from an Abandoned Gold Mine Reservoir, Southwestern Nigeria

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-155
Author(s):  
Olusola Olaniyi KOMOLAFE ◽  
Timothy Olalekan AMOO ◽  
Michael Olufemi AWODIRAN
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Gold Mine ◽  
Southwestern Nigeria ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Tilapia Zillii ◽  
Gill Net ◽  
Food And Feeding ◽  
Index Value

The food and feeding habits of the redbelly Tilapia (Tilapia zillii) and Guenther’s mouthbrooder (Chromidotilapia guntheri) were investigated in an abandoned gold mine reservoir at Igun from June 2013 to May 2014. Using a cast net and gill-net fishing gears, 370 fish individuals were caught and their stomach contents were analysed by using the frequency of occurrence and numerical methods. Tilapia zillii comprised 53.78% (199 individuals), while Chromidotilapia guntheri covered up the remaining percentage (46.22%) which is made up of 171 individuals. Food items in the stomachs of T. zillii individuals predominantly consisted of detritus, mud and algae (77.97%), while those in C. guntheri individuals mostly consisted fish remains, detritus and algae (81.67%). T. zillii exploited more food items (23 of 27) as compared to C. guntheri (17 of 27). The Schoener’s index value for the species was 0.65. The study showed that T. zillii and C. guntheri exhibited benthopelagic exploitation and are mainly herbivorous and omnivorous respectively based on the food items observed in the stomach contents of these species. The fish species fed on related food items as confirmed by Schoener’s overlap index (0.65), suggesting that there was overlap in the dietary requirements of the two species. This index value, however, was probably not an indication of competition for food between these two species because they exploited abundant food sources.

Food and feeding habits of Triturus vulgaris (L.) and T. cristatus (LAURENTI) (Amphibia) in two bog tarns in central Norway

1983 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dag Dolmen ◽  
Jan Ivar Koksvik
Keyword(s):  
Benthic Invertebrates ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Triturus Vulgaris ◽  
Food And Feeding ◽  
Benthic Prey

AbstractThe diets oftwo sympatric species of newts, Triturus vulgaris(L.) and T. cristatus(LAURENTI), from two localities in central Norway, have been compared. Adult T. vulgaris ate mainly those Cladocera which can be classified as planktonic, and to a lesser degree those which are predominantly benthic. The food of T. cristatus was predominantly benthic invertebrates and Cladocera associated with the bottom. T. vulgaris larvae ate planktonic - and predominantly benthic Cladocera, and to a certain degree also larger benthic invertebrates, while T. cristatus larvae (July-August) had taken almost exclusively Cladocera, 75% of which can be classified as planktonic. Large T. cristatus larvae (in September) had eaten relatively more benthic prey. These data would fit the hypothesis that the modes of feeding of the species are different: Adult T. vulgaris swim about in the water much of the time, while T. cristatus stay on the bottom. Among the young, T. vulgaris larvae are mainly associated with the bottom, while T. cristatus larvae are definitely more nektonic during most of the summer; large T. cristatus larvae, however, when nearing the time for metamorphosis, become benthic.

Life cycle and diet of Zygonyx iris insignis (Insecta: Odonata: Anisoptera) in Hong Kong running waters

1986 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Dudgeon ◽  
Christina Y. M. Wat
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Prey Size ◽  
Generalist Predator ◽  
Running Waters ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Chironomid Larvae ◽  
Tropical Asia ◽  
Larval Recruitment ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Selection Of

ABSTRACTZygonix iris is widespread in tropical Asia, and larvae are sprawlers/clingers on rock surfaces in fast-flowing streams and rivers. In the Lam Tsuen River, Hong Kong, this species is univoltine; emergence occurs prior to the summer monsoon and larval recruitment during the wet season. Studies on larval dietary composition in four habitats indicated that Z. iris is a generalist predator, consuming epibenthic prey taxa in proportion to their abundance in the environment. Larval Chironomidae (Diptera) and Baetis (Ephemeroptera) were the commonest food items at all sites and there was little consistent evidence of preference for individual taxa. Larger Z. iris larvae tended to consume more prey taxa than did smaller larvae, and Baetis prey size was positively correlated with predator size. No size selection of chironomid larvae was apparent. Despite its unusual larval habit, Z. iris is a generalist feeder resembling lotic and lentic temperate-zone Odonata.

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