Feeding Habits of the Marbled Goby, Pomatoschistus Marmoratus (Actinopterygii: Perciformes: Gobiidae), in the Çanakkale Strait, Northern Aegean Sea, Turkey (original) (raw)
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Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 2012
The purpose of the study was to define the diet composition, feeding preferences, seasonal, size and sex related changes in diet, feeding strategy and diel cycle of Economidichthys pygmaeus. Important features of the overall feeding patterns of the goby include (i) feeding activity, (ii) bottom habits and (iii) consumption of food items to identify the dietary breadth. Stomach contents of 533 specimens, 13.42-48.65 mm total length (TL), collected by hand net (2 mm mesh size) from October 2006 to September 2007 were analyzed. The percentage of 76 empty stomachs (14.26%) did not vary significantly with season. The food composition suggested that the goby is a carnivorous fish. Prey items identified in the stomachs belonged to four major groups: Crustaceans, Insects, Mollusca and Plants. Copepods were the most important (%IRI = 57.51), especially in fish larger than 23 mm TL. Chironomids (%IRI = 43.23) constituted the main prey for fish <23 mm TL. Diet composition showed little seasonal variation. Copepoda dominated the diet in autumn and winter (43.4%; 82.4%) and were replaced by Chironomidae larvae in spring (39.7%) and summer (47.7%). During the reproductive season, large males show a narrow food spectrum as opposed to large females, reflecting the different activity pattern exhibited by males and females during the breeding season, since the former supports parental care. According to the modified Costello graphical method, specialist individuals form the goby population that feeds on two preferential prey types (e.g. Copepods, Chironomids). Nevertheless, they consume some occasional prey (e.g. Cladocera, Insects, Gastropods). The species foraged chiefly at night and early morning, during lower light intensity. The highest feeding activity recorded at night (02.00 hours) and during early morning (08.00 hours) could be related to the cryptic behaviour displayed by the species.
Marine Ecology, 2014
The present study provides the first estimate of the daily ration for a goby species in the Mediterranean Sea, using a new approach to determine the mass of fish stomach contents through the sum of individual prey dry mass derived indirectly from prey size. Diel feeding activity and daily ration of the pelagic goby Aphia minuta were studied under natural conditions in the coastal waters off Comacchio (Northwestern Adriatic Sea) during the spring season. A total of 318 individuals of A. minuta, collected by 14 trawls carried out on 4 consecutive days, was examined for gut contents. The diel pattern of the vacuity index and the stomach fullness index indicated that A. minuta has nocturnal feeding behaviour. The daily ration, computed over a period of 16 h, was equivalent to 2.23% wet body mass.
“Age and growth, reproduction and diet of the black goby, (Gobius niger) from Aegean Sea, Turkey”
Black gobies, Gobius niger L., 1758, were sampled monthly between March 2003 and February 2004 in Izmir Bay involving 1149 specimens. Length distribution varied between 5.1 and 15.2 cm total length. Age determined from direct reading on otoliths was comprised from zero to five years. There were significant differences in mean lengths at age group for the two sexes, which did not allow the use of combined data. The parameters of the fitted Von Bertalanffy growth equation (with seasonal component, birth date on the 1 st of January) were L ∞ = 16.69 cm, k= 0.301 yr -1 , t 0 = -2.205 for males, and L ∞ = 14.84 cm, k= 0.321 yr -1 , t 0 = -1.459 for females. Macroscopic examination of the gonads, and analysis of the monthly values of the gonadosomatic index, indicated that reproduction starts in March and lasts during October, with a maximum in March, followed by August and October. Individuals become sexually mature around 7.80 cm TL (a size that can be reached in less than 1 year) for females. In this population, the sex ratio (male:female) was 3.6:1. Stomach contents were mainly Mollusca (%IRI= 47.53), Crustacea (%IRI= 42.94), Polychaeta (%IRI= 8.26), Foreminifera (%IRI= 1.14) and Teleostei (%IRI= 0.13).
Journal of Great Lakes Research, 2001
This study documents the diet of Neogobius melanostomus (round goby) from three different habitats within the Gulf of Gdansk. Diet composition of the round goby in the Gulf of Gdansk appears similar to that in its natural environment within the Ponto-Caspian Basin. In its native habitat, the round goby feeds mainly on epibenthic organisms and opportunistically forages on seasonally abundant components of the benthic community. A natural mollusk-feeder, the round goby feeds mainly on the mussel Mytilus trossulus in the Gulf of Gdansk. This food preference most likely is due to the fact that M. trossulus is commonly distributed throughout most of the gulf and dominates the benthic biomass. The adult round goby prefers an environment full of hiding places that also can be used for nests. Thus, submerged stones or concrete structures covered with colonies of M. trossulus are its preferred habitat. Younger gobies are more abundant in the frontal areas of underwater concrete structures where the substrate is characterized by loose stones and the presence of Mya arenaria. These habitats have different faunal structures and, therefore, different trophic relations. The round goby, which is well suited for ecological expansion, has great potential to dominate the majority of the coastal zone of the Baltic Sea. Puck Lagoon, devoid of predatory fish and rich in mussel beds, is an ideal habitat for this gobiid species.
Ege Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 2020
Among ecologically diverse gobies species, knout goby, Mesogobius batrachocephalus (Pallas, 1814), or previously known as Gobius batrachocephalus, is a Black Sea endemic species. There are studies on this species biological features along the Black Sea but there are only studies on its length and weight relationship along the Turkish coasts of the Black Sea. This study aims to contribute to the lack of knowledge on knout goby length and weight relationship and feeding ecology inhabiting Southern Black Sea. Total of 470 individual of knout goby was collected and it was previously reported that knout goby shows negative (-) allometry though within this study it was found that it only shows negative (-) allometry in spring and positive (+) allometry in other seasons. The diet was composed of crustaceans, teleost fishes and gastropods. According to the relative importance analysis, teleost fishes are the main food item for all and male individuals but for female crustaceans are the main...
Özet: Ege Denizi'nde bulunan beş derin deniz balığı: Argentina sphyraena, Glossanodon leioglossus, Chlorophthalmus agassizi, Hoplostethus mediterraneus ve Capros aper 2003 bahar mevsimi süresince ticari trol balıkçıları tarafından hedef dışı av olarak elde edilen örnekler olarak çalışılmıştır. Türlerin besin kompozisyonlarını belirlemek için mide içerikleri incelenmiştir ve türlerin trofik durumlarının özellikle karnivor seviyede yer aldığı görülmüştür. Beş predator türün besin kompozisyonunda iki esas av grubu bulunmuştur: Crustacea (copepodlar ve isopodlar gibi) ve Chaetognatha (Sagitta spp.).
Diet composition of Belone belone (Linnaeus, 1761) (Pisces: Belonidae) in the Aegean Sea
Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 2009
The objective of this study was to determine the monthly dietary pattern in migratory garfish and to improve our understanding in the seasonality of prey choice. Gut contents of 597 Belone belone specimens collected from the eastern Aegean Sea (Turkey) were analyzed: 79.2% contained food in their guts and 20.8% had empty guts. Crustaceans (36.7%) were the most important prey with a 36.7 index of relative importance (%IRI). Especially brachyurans (13.0%) and copepods played a major role (10.1%), followed by teleosts (26.1%) and other food categories (23.3%) (much of which was of terrestrial origin, including insects). Nannocalanus minor, Clausocalanus arcuicornis, Temora stylifera, Labidocera wollastoni and Oncea media were important copepods found in the guts of B. belone specimens. Analysis of variance of the monthly weight data indicated no significant seasonal differences, except for January and February.