Abstract
Ontogenetic and seasonal changes in the diet of the halfbeak Zenarchopterus dunckeri were examined in the Urauchi River estuary, Iriomote Island, southern Japan, using gut content analysis. The diet of this species changed dramatically with growth. Smaller juveniles fed mostly on small zooplankton and small gastropods, with a shift to the consumption of terrestrial insects, such as ants and flies, by larger individuals. Seasonal dietary differences were also apparent in adults. Ants were the most dominant prey item in the spring to fall months, whereas flies were abundant in the diet in the winter and early summer months.
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Ken Sakihara, Akira Mizutani and the Okinawa Regional Research Center, Tokai University, for assistance with the fieldwork. Constructive comments on the manuscript from Ken Okamoto, Shigeru Aoki, Graham Hardy and two anonymous reviewers were much appreciated. This study was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (No. 26252027).
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Kanai, T., Nanjo, K., Kohno, H. et al. Ontogenetic and seasonal changes in the diet of the halfbeak Zenarchopterus dunckeri at Iriomote Island, southern Japan. Ichthyol Res 64, 470–474 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-017-0581-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-017-0581-8