Abstract
We tested the hypothesis that the highly flexible feeding repertoire of juvenile Chaetodipterus faber reflects their trophic adaptability by quantifying the feeding behaviour of juveniles in situ, for the first time, in a northeastern Brazilian estuary. The fishes presented a preference for alga-rich habitats, irrespective of the substrate type chosen during feeding bouts. The analysis of stomach contents revealed omnivorous feeding habits, indicating that the ingestion of plant material occurs incidentally during foraging for benthic prey hidden under the alga. Particulate feeding in the water column was often as important as bottom feeding on alga-rich substrates. The results of this study are consistent with those of other ephippid species in different coastal environments, which typically exploit an ample diversity of food items from different substrates. Therefore, the flexibility observed in the feeding behavior of the most ephippid species may be a fundamental determinant of the ecological success of this group.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank U. Scofield, A. Schmidt, J. Jesus and E. Lemos (CEPENE), J. Neto (ICMBio), E. M. Chaves, R. Moura and R. Francini-Filho (Conservation International) for logistic support during the course of this study; E. Varela and D. Sodré (IECOS-UFPA) and J. Ha (Washington University), and the two anonymous referees for their critiques and much appreciated suggestions; P. C. Pretz (ESPM) for his technical support; and S. Kashima and K. Nakamura (Hiroshima University) for technical support in the field. We are grateful to S. F. Ferrari (UFS) for proofreading the manuscript. Thanks are also due to the Brazilian Council for Research and Development (CNPq, Grant #141225/2008-4) and the Brazilian Federal Agency for the Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES, Process #6718-10-8) for financial support. Both observation and sampling activities were authorized by Brazilian authorities, under SISBIO license # 18963-2.
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Barros, B., Sakai, Y., Abrunhosa, F.A. et al. Trophic adaptability of late juvenile Atlantic spadefish Chaetodipterus faber (Teleostei: Ephippidae) related to habitat preferences in an estuary in northeastern Brazil. Hydrobiologia 717, 161–167 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-013-1574-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-013-1574-x