Food resource use by juveniles of the endangered sleeper Eleotris oxycephala in the Sagami River system, Japan

Ichthyological Research (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

To ascertain the early food resource use of the endangered sleeper, Eleotris oxycephala, the food habits of juveniles were studied in a major stream (which received treated sewage discharge and had a low level of vegetation cover) and a tributary (which received little artificial inflow and had extensive vegetation cover) in the Sagami River system, eastern Japan in November 2015 (winter), May 2016 (spring), and August/September 2016 (summer). The stomach content compositions of 174 individuals and the stable isotope ratios of 30 individuals and their prey animals were investigated along with the species composition of prey animals in the environment. Various aquatic animals, including fish eggs, mollusks, crabs, palaemonid shrimps, atyid shrimps, isopods (asellids), chironomid larvae, and dragonfly larvae, were present in juvenile E. oxycephala stomach contents. In the tributary, they mainly preyed on atyid shrimps, which were abundant in the environment, with lower feeding intensity during winter season. In the major stream, throughout the year (including winter), they fed mainly on chironomid larvae, which were smaller and slower than atyid shrimps, and so easily caught, even by small recently recruited juveniles. There were abundant chironomid larvae in the major stream environment, where the water temperature seemed warmer and more eutrophic than in the tributary because of the treated sewage discharge, particularly in winter. These results indicated that feeding intensity differed between sites, particularly in winter, and this difference might be associated with differences in prey availability (i.e., chironomid larvae) or warm-water conditions. Moreover, juveniles could shift their use of food resources, in response to differences in prey availability. Thus, to conserve E. oxycephala in terms of early food resource use, it is necessary to conserve various aquatic prey animals such as atyid shrimps and chironomid larvae and their habitats.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Sagami-gawa River Fisheries Cooperative Federation for their permitting our sampling in the Sagami River system. Special thanks are given to H. Senou (Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Natural History), K. Maeda (Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University) and Leanne Faulks (Sugadaira Research Station, Mountain Science Center, University of Tsukuba) for generous assistance in this work. This study was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B) from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture of Japan (16K18735).

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Affiliations

  1. Shimoda Marine Research Center, University of Tsukuba, 5-10-1 Shimoda, Shizuoka, 415-0025, Japan

    Uchu Yamakawa & Koetsu Kon

  2. Sugadaira Research Station, Mountain Science Center, University of Tsukuba, 1278-294 Sugadairakogen, Ueda, Nagano, 386-2204, Japan

    Uchu Yamakawa & Yoshiaki Tsuda

  3. Water Environmental Field Station, Global and Local Environment Co-creation Institute, Ibaraki University, 1375 Ohu, Itako, Ibaraki, 311-2402, Japan

    Kouki Kanou

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  1. Uchu Yamakawa
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  2. Kouki Kanou
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  4. Koetsu Kon
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Correspondence to Koetsu Kon.

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Yamakawa, U., Kanou, K., Tsuda, Y. et al. Food resource use by juveniles of the endangered sleeper Eleotris oxycephala in the Sagami River system, Japan. Ichthyol Res (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-020-00795-x

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Keywords

  • Opportunistic feeder
  • Prey animal composition
  • Stable isotope analysis
  • Stomach content composition
  • Stomach fullness index