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Ontogenetic diet shift, feeding rhythm, and daily ration of juvenile yellowfin goby Acanthogobius flavimanus on a tidal mudflat in the Tama River estuary, central Japan

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Abstract

To ascertain the feeding habits of benthic juvenile yellowfin goby Acanthogobius flavimanus, the gut contents of 599 specimens (15–41 mm in standard length, SL), collected on a tidal mudflat in the Tama River estuary throughout the diel cycle, were examined. The major prey items changed from harpacticoid copepods to errant and sedentary polychaetes at ca. 20 mm SL. Prey width increased with fish size. Fish of 26–28 mm SL fed mainly from sunset to morning, with highest feeding intensity during twilight hours and/or high tide. Based on the gut evacuation rate estimated from a forced feeding experiment in the laboratory and data for the diel change of mean gut-content volume in the field, the daily ration of juvenile yellowfin goby (26–28 mm SL) was calculated to be 13.8 mm3 fish−1 day−1. This volume is approximately equivalent to 3.9 individuals of the errant polychaete Ceratonereis erythraeensis (9.7 mm in body length, BL) or 8.1 individuals of the sedentary polychaete Prionospio japonica (14.8 mm BL), both species occurring abundantly on the mudflat during the study.

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Author notes

  1. Kouki Kanou

    Present address: Japan Wildlife Research Center, 3-10-10 Shitaya, Taito-ku, Tokyo, 110-8676, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Global Agricultural Sciences, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan

    Kouki Kanou & Mitsuhiko Sano

  2. Laboratory of Ichthyology, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, 4-5-7 Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8477, Japan

    Hiroshi Kohno

Authors
  1. Kouki Kanou
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  2. Mitsuhiko Sano
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  3. Hiroshi Kohno
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Correspondence to Kouki Kanou.

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Kanou, K., Sano, M. & Kohno, H. Ontogenetic diet shift, feeding rhythm, and daily ration of juvenile yellowfin goby Acanthogobius flavimanus on a tidal mudflat in the Tama River estuary, central Japan. Ichthyol Res 52, 319–324 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-005-0287-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-005-0287-1

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