Ingestion and selection of suprabenthic crustaceans by small-sized fishes in a lower saltmarsh system

Wakabara, Yoko; Flynn, Maurea Nicoletti; Tararam, Airton Santo

doi:10.1590/S1413-77391996000200001

Abstracts

This study was performed in the lower saltmarsh system of the Arrozal, in the Cananéia lagoon estuarine region (25º02'S - 47º56'W), Brazil. Suprabenthic fauna was surveyed Wlth a small sledge and fishes were captured with casting and set nets to analyse: crustacean fauna as food for local fish species; difference in the diet at different times of the year; if there is diet overlap between species and the feeding behaviour of the species analysed. The fauna of Arrozal is poor in species, dominated mainly by Metamysidopsis alongata atlantica, Acartia lilljeborgi, Atylus minikoi, decapod larvae, and reveals a strong seasonal variation. The fishes were ali camivorous with suprabenthic crustacean as their main food resource. Seasonal changes in food supply are also reflected in the diet. Of the 12 flSh species collected six were opportunistlc feeders whereas six others were selective feeders. Food overlap value of 0.08 for ali of the fish community indicates an almost completely distinct food niches. The increased overlapping of summer food between Cathorops spixii and species of Group 11 and between Oligoplites sp and species of Group I seems to have two different explanations: 1) the mmIDishing of food supply for species feeding on benthic originated suprabenthic crustaceans and 2) overabundance of planktonic forms of suprabenthos as well as a period of high feeding activity of fishes with such diet.

Suprabenthic crustaceans; Fish food; Niche overlap; Southeastern Brazil

O presente estudo foi realizado no infralitoral contíguo à marisma, na Ponta do Arrozal, região estuarina lagunar de Cananéia (25º02'S - 47º56'W), Brasil. A fauna suprabêntica foi amostrada com uma pequena draga e os peixes capturados com tarrafa e rede de espera, com a finalidade de analisar: a composição de espécies dos crustáceos suprabênticos como itens alimentares dos peixes; diferenças na dieta em diferentes época do ano; se ocorre sobreposição alimentar entre as espécies e o comportamento alimentar: das espécies de peixes analisadas. A fauna suuprabêntica do Arrozal é pobre em espécies, dommada pnnclpalmente por Metamysldopsis elongata atlantica, Acartia lilljeborgi, Atylus minikoi e larvas de decapoda, e revela uma forte variação temporal. Os peixes são todos carnívoros e têm crustáceos suprabênticos como sua principal fonte alimentar. Variação temporal no suprimento alimentar se reflete na dieta. Das 12 espécies de peixes coletadas, 6 são oportunistas e 6 seletivas, em relação à captura do alimento. O valor da sobreposição alimentar de 0,08 para toda a comunidade de peixes indica nichos alimentares completamente distintos. O aumento de sobreposição alimentar no verão entre Cathoropsis spixii e espécies do Grupo 11 e Oligoplites sp e espécies do Grupo I parece ter duas explicações diferentes: 1) a diminuição do fornecimento alimentar para as espécies que se alimentaram de crustáceos suprabênticos com origem bêntica e 2) superabundância de formas planctônicas do suprabentos, assim como um período de alta atividade alimentar para peixes com esta dieta.

Crustáceos suprabênticos; Alimento de peixes; Sobreposição alimentar; Sudeste do Brasil

RESEARCH ARTICLES

Ingestion and selection of suprabenthic crustaceans by small-sized fishes in a lower saltmarsh system

Yoko Wakabara; Maurea Nicoletti Flynn; Airton Santo Tararam

Instituto Oceanográfico da Universidade de São Paulo (Caixa Postal 66149, 05315-970, São Paulo, SP, Brasil)

ABSTRACT

This study was performed in the lower saltmarsh system of the Arrozal, in the Cananéia lagoon estuarine region (25º02'S - 47º56'W), Brazil. Suprabenthic fauna was surveyed Wlth a small sledge and fishes were captured with casting and set nets to analyse: crustacean fauna as food for local fish species; difference in the diet at different times of the year; if there is diet overlap between species and the feeding behaviour of the species analysed. The fauna of Arrozal is poor in species, dominated mainly by Metamysidopsis alongata atlantica, Acartia lilljeborgi, Atylus minikoi, decapod larvae, and reveals a strong seasonal variation. The fishes were ali camivorous with suprabenthic crustacean as their main food resource. Seasonal changes in food supply are also reflected in the diet. Of the 12 flSh species collected six were opportunistlc feeders whereas six others were selective feeders. Food overlap value of 0.08 for ali of the fish community indicates an almost completely distinct food niches. The increased overlapping of summer food between Cathorops spixii and species of Group 11 and between Oligoplites sp and species of Group I seems to have two different explanations: 1) the mmIDishing of food supply for species feeding on benthic originated suprabenthic crustaceans and 2) overabundance of planktonic forms of suprabenthos as well as a period of high feeding activity of fishes with such diet.

Descriptors: Suprabenthic crustaceans, Fish food, Niche overlap, Southeastern Brazil.

RESUMO

O presente estudo foi realizado no infralitoral contíguo à marisma, na Ponta do Arrozal, região estuarina lagunar de Cananéia (25º02'S - 47º56'W), Brasil. A fauna suprabêntica foi amostrada com uma pequena draga e os peixes capturados com tarrafa e rede de espera, com a finalidade de analisar: a composição de espécies dos crustáceos suprabênticos como itens alimentares dos peixes; diferenças na dieta em diferentes época do ano; se ocorre sobreposição alimentar entre as espécies e o comportamento alimentar: das espécies de peixes analisadas. A fauna suuprabêntica do Arrozal é pobre em espécies, dommada pnnclpalmente por Metamysldopsis elongata atlantica, Acartia lilljeborgi, Atylus minikoi e larvas de decapoda, e revela uma forte variação temporal. Os peixes são todos carnívoros e têm crustáceos suprabênticos como sua principal fonte alimentar. Variação temporal no suprimento alimentar se reflete na dieta. Das 12 espécies de peixes coletadas, 6 são oportunistas e 6 seletivas, em relação à captura do alimento. O valor da sobreposição alimentar de 0,08 para toda a comunidade de peixes indica nichos alimentares completamente distintos. O aumento de sobreposição alimentar no verão entre Cathoropsis spixii e espécies do Grupo 11 e Oligoplites sp e espécies do Grupo I parece ter duas explicações diferentes: 1) a diminuição do fornecimento alimentar para as espécies que se alimentaram de crustáceos suprabênticos com origem bêntica e 2) superabundância de formas planctônicas do suprabentos, assim como um período de alta atividade alimentar para peixes com esta dieta.

Descritores: Crustáceos suprabênticos, Alimento de peixes, Sobreposição alimentar, Sudeste do Brasil.

Full text available only in PDF format.

Texto completo disponível apenas em PDF.

Acknowledgements

We thank the following specialists: Ana Maria Setubal Pires Vanin (Isopoda and Tanaidacea), Antonio Frederico Campaner (Copepoda), Motonaga Iwai (Peneaidae) and Gustavo A. S. Melo (Brachyura, Caridea and Thalassinidca) for idcntilication of Crustacean species.

(Manuscript received 11 June 1996; revised 11 August 1996, accepted 16 October 1996)

Burchmorc, J. J.; Pollard, D. A. & Bell, J. D. 1984. Community structure and trophic relationships of the lish fauna or ao cstuarioc Posidonia ausralis seagrass habitat in Port Hacking, New South Wales. Aquat. Bot., 18:71-87.
Chao, L. N. & Musick, J. A. 1977. Life history, feeding habits, and functional morphology of juvenile sciaenid ishes in the York River estuary, Virginia. Fish. Bul., 75(4):657-702.
Davis, I. C. 1973. Statistic and data analysis in geology with FORTRAN programs by Robert J. Sampson. New York, John Wiley & Sons. 55Op.
Dauvin, J. C.; Iglesias, A. & Lorgeré, J. C. 1994. Circalittoral suprabenthic coarse sand community from the Westem English Channel. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K.,74:543-556.
Evans, S. 1984. Energy budgets and predation impact of dominant epibenthic camivores on a shallow soft bottom community at the Swedish west coast. Estuar. coast. Shelf. Sci., 18:651-672.
Jacksic, F. M. 1989. Opportunist, selective, and other often- confused terms in the predation literature. Revta. chil. hist. nat., 62:7-8.
Jackson, J. B. C. 1972. The ecology of the molluscs of Thalassia communities, Jamaica, West Indians. II. Moluscan population variability along an environment stress gradient. Mar. Biol., 14(4):304-337.
Kohler, C. & Ney, J. J. 1982. A comparison of methods for quantitative analysis of feeding selection of fishes. Environ. Biol. Fishes, 7(4):363-368.
Mathur, D. 1977. Food habits and competitive relationships of the bandfin shiner in Halawakee Creek, Alabama. Am. Midl. Naturalist, 97:89-100.
Mees, J. & Hamerlynck, O. 1992. Spatial community structure of the permanent hyperbeothos of the Schelde-estuary and the adjacent coastal waters. Neth. J. Sea Res., 29:357-370.
Mees, J.; Dewicke, A. & Hamerlynck, O. 1993. Seasonal composition and spatial distribution of hyperbenthic communities along estuarine gradients in the westernchelde. Neth. J. Aquatic. Ecol., 27(2-4):359-376.
Pihl, L. 1985. Food selection and consumption af mobile epibenthic fauna in shallow marine areas. Mar. Ecol. - Prog. Ser., 22:169-179.
Sagar, P. M. & Eldon, G. A. 1983. Food and feeding of small fish in the Rakaia Rivcr, New Zealand. N. Z. J. mar. Freshwat. Res., 17:213- 226.
Schoener, T. W. 1970. Nonsynchronous spatial overlap of lizards in patchy habitats. Ecology, 51(1/3):408-418.
Sibert, J. R. 1981. Intertidal hyperbenthic populations in the Nanaimo estuary. Mar. Biol., 64:259-265.
Sokal, R. R. & Sneath, P. H. A. 1973. Principals of numerical taxonomy. San Francisco, W.H. Freeman. 359p.
Sorbe, J. C. 1981. Rôle du benthos dans le régime alimentaire des poissons démersaux du secteur sud Gascogne. Kieler Meeresforsch. Sonderh., 5:479-489.
Strauss, R. E. 1979. Reability estimates for Ivlev's electivity index, the forage ratio, and a proposed linear index of food selection. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc., 108:344-352.
Subrahmanyam, C. B. & Coultas, C. L. 1980. Studies on the animal communities in two North Florida saltmarshes. 1lI. Seasonal fluctuations of fish and macroinvertebrates. Bull. mar. Sei., 30(4):790-818.
Thorman, S. 1982. Niche dynamics and resource partitioning in a fish guild inhabiting a shallow estuary of the Swedish West Coast. Oikos, 39:32-39.
Thorman, S. & Wicdcrholm.. A. M. 1983. Seasonal occurrence and food resource use of an assemblage of nearshore fish species in the Bothnian Sea, Sweden. Mar. Ecol.-Prog. Ser., 10:223-229.
Thorman, S. & Wiederholm, A. M. 1986. Food, habitat and time niches in a coastal fish species assemblage in a brackish water Bay in the Bothnian Sea, Sweden. J. expl. mar. Biol. Ecol., 95:67- 86.
Wakabara, Y.; Tararam, A. S. & Flynn, M. N. 1993. Importance of the macrofauna for the feeding of young fish species from infralittoral of Arrozal-Cananéia lagoon estuarine region (25ş02'S-47ş56'W) - Brazil. Bolm Inst. oceanogr., S Paulo, 41(1/2):39-52.
Zander, C. D. 1979. On the biology and food of small-sized fish from the North and Baltic Sea areas. II. Investigation of a shallow stony Ground off Mon, Denmark. Ophelia, 18(2):179-190.
Zaret, T. M. & Rand, A. S. 1971. Competition in tropical stream fishes: support for the competitive exclusions principle. Ecology, 52(2):336-342.

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
22 Apr 2013
Date of issue
1996

History

Reviewed
11 Aug 1996
Received
11 June 1996
Accepted
16 Oct 1996

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

[1] Burchmorc, J. J.; Pollard, D. A. & Bell, J. D. 1984. Community structure and trophic relationships of the lish fauna or ao cstuarioc Posidonia ausralis seagrass habitat in Port Hacking, New South Wales. Aquat. Bot., 18:71-87.

[2] Chao, L. N. & Musick, J. A. 1977. Life history, feeding habits, and functional morphology of juvenile sciaenid ishes in the York River estuary, Virginia. Fish. Bul., 75(4):657-702.

[3] Davis, I. C. 1973. Statistic and data analysis in geology with FORTRAN programs by Robert J. Sampson. New York, John Wiley & Sons. 55Op.

[4] Dauvin, J. C.; Iglesias, A. & Lorgeré, J. C. 1994. Circalittoral suprabenthic coarse sand community from the Westem English Channel. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K.,74:543-556.

[5] Evans, S. 1984. Energy budgets and predation impact of dominant epibenthic camivores on a shallow soft bottom community at the Swedish west coast. Estuar. coast. Shelf. Sci., 18:651-672.

[6] Jacksic, F. M. 1989. Opportunist, selective, and other often- confused terms in the predation literature. Revta. chil. hist. nat., 62:7-8.

[7] Jackson, J. B. C. 1972. The ecology of the molluscs of Thalassia communities, Jamaica, West Indians. II. Moluscan population variability along an environment stress gradient. Mar. Biol., 14(4):304-337.

[8] Kohler, C. & Ney, J. J. 1982. A comparison of methods for quantitative analysis of feeding selection of fishes. Environ. Biol. Fishes, 7(4):363-368.

[9] Mathur, D. 1977. Food habits and competitive relationships of the bandfin shiner in Halawakee Creek, Alabama. Am. Midl. Naturalist, 97:89-100.

[10] Mees, J. & Hamerlynck, O. 1992. Spatial community structure of the permanent hyperbeothos of the Schelde-estuary and the adjacent coastal waters. Neth. J. Sea Res., 29:357-370.

[11] Mees, J.; Dewicke, A. & Hamerlynck, O. 1993. Seasonal composition and spatial distribution of hyperbenthic communities along estuarine gradients in the westernchelde. Neth. J. Aquatic. Ecol., 27(2-4):359-376.

[12] Pihl, L. 1985. Food selection and consumption af mobile epibenthic fauna in shallow marine areas. Mar. Ecol. - Prog. Ser., 22:169-179.

[13] Sagar, P. M. & Eldon, G. A. 1983. Food and feeding of small fish in the Rakaia Rivcr, New Zealand. N. Z. J. mar. Freshwat. Res., 17:213- 226.

[14] Schoener, T. W. 1970. Nonsynchronous spatial overlap of lizards in patchy habitats. Ecology, 51(1/3):408-418.

[15] Sibert, J. R. 1981. Intertidal hyperbenthic populations in the Nanaimo estuary. Mar. Biol., 64:259-265.

[16] Sokal, R. R. & Sneath, P. H. A. 1973. Principals of numerical taxonomy. San Francisco, W.H. Freeman. 359p.

[17] Sorbe, J. C. 1981. Rôle du benthos dans le régime alimentaire des poissons démersaux du secteur sud Gascogne. Kieler Meeresforsch. Sonderh., 5:479-489.

[18] Strauss, R. E. 1979. Reability estimates for Ivlev's electivity index, the forage ratio, and a proposed linear index of food selection. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc., 108:344-352.

[19] Subrahmanyam, C. B. & Coultas, C. L. 1980. Studies on the animal communities in two North Florida saltmarshes. 1lI. Seasonal fluctuations of fish and macroinvertebrates. Bull. mar. Sei., 30(4):790-818.

[20] Thorman, S. 1982. Niche dynamics and resource partitioning in a fish guild inhabiting a shallow estuary of the Swedish West Coast. Oikos, 39:32-39.

[21] Thorman, S. & Wicdcrholm.. A. M. 1983. Seasonal occurrence and food resource use of an assemblage of nearshore fish species in the Bothnian Sea, Sweden. Mar. Ecol.-Prog. Ser., 10:223-229.

[22] Thorman, S. & Wiederholm, A. M. 1986. Food, habitat and time niches in a coastal fish species assemblage in a brackish water Bay in the Bothnian Sea, Sweden. J. expl. mar. Biol. Ecol., 95:67- 86.

[23] Wakabara, Y.; Tararam, A. S. & Flynn, M. N. 1993. Importance of the macrofauna for the feeding of young fish species from infralittoral of Arrozal-Cananéia lagoon estuarine region (25ş02'S-47ş56'W) - Brazil. Bolm Inst. oceanogr., S Paulo, 41(1/2):39-52.

[24] Zander, C. D. 1979. On the biology and food of small-sized fish from the North and Baltic Sea areas. II. Investigation of a shallow stony Ground off Mon, Denmark. Ophelia, 18(2):179-190.

[25] Zaret, T. M. & Rand, A. S. 1971. Competition in tropical stream fishes: support for the competitive exclusions principle. Ecology, 52(2):336-342.