Abstract
The centropomid Lates stappersii and its prey, the clupeid Stolothrissa tanganicae, make up the main exploited pelagic fish resource of Lake Tanganyika. In the south of the lake the contribution of S. tanganicae in the industrial fishery drastically declined during the 1980s while the catch of L. stappersii has increased to consist most of the yield. Lates stappersii does not seem to be affected by the decreased abundance of the clupeid prey. The analysis of the stomach contents of captured L. stappersii in the southern and north-eastern areas of the lake indicated a different feeding ecology for the fish between areas. Pelagic shrimps were the main prey species in the south while in the north-east the diet was more heterogeneous and included S. tanganicae larvae and adults, shrimps and copepods. It appears that the commercially important stock of L. stappersii in the south is sustained by shrimps which have replaced the clupeids in the diet.
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Mannini, P., Katonda, I., Kissaka, B. et al. Feeding ecology of Lates stappersii in Lake Tanganyika. Hydrobiologia 407, 131–139 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003714203943
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003714203943