Journal
JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY
Volume 80, Issue 5, Pages 1580-1594Publisher
WILEY-BLACKWELL
DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2011.03169.x
Keywords
Australia; benthic; dietary shift; stomach content
Categories
Funding
- CRC Reef Research Centre
- FRDC
- National Oceans Office
- Torres Strait Mapping and Characterisation Project
- CRC Torres Strait
- Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The diets of Neotrygon picta, Neotrygon kuhlii and Neotrygon annotata are described using trophic level analysis, index of relative importance (IRI) and non-metric multidimensional scaling ordination (nMDS). They were secondary consumers with trophic levels of between 3.55 and 3.58. Carids were the most important prey category in the diets of N. picta (82.0%IRI) and N. annotata (69.4%IRI); Polychaeta (72.3%IRI) was the most important prey category for N. kuhlii. A significant difference was detected between the volumetric dietary data of all three species (ANOSIM, global R-statistic = 0.742, P < 0.01) and between sequential N. picta and N. kuhlii size classes (ANOSIM, global R-statistics = 0.3670.403, P < 0.01). Changes in polychaete and carid prey proportions were the primary sources of diet variability. Dietary differences may be linked to variations in disc width, mouth morphology and feeding strategies. This study provides insights into the level of variability within and between the diets and feeding behaviours of Neotrygon species, and the potential for resource partitioning to occur when these species coexist. (C) 2011 The Authors Journal of Fish Biology (C) 2011 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available