Skip to main content

A comparison of the diets of Gulf killifish,Fundulus grandis Baird and Girard, entering and leaving a Mississippi brackish marsh

Estuaries volume 13, pages 332–336 (1990)Cite this article

Abstract

We examined the diets of Gulf killifish,Fundulus grandis Baird and Girard, collected monthly from March through July 1988 with unbaited minnow traps during two sampling periods: (1) on flood tides before they reached the marsh surface, and (2) on ebb tides as they left the marsh. Thirty-five prey taxa, plant parts, and detritus were identified from the stomach contents of 110 Gulf killifish (mean SL = 55 mm, range = 30−82 mm). Fiddler crabs,Uca longisignalis Salmon and Atsaides; amphipods, mostlyCorophium louisianum Shoemaker; tanaidaceans,Hargeria rapax (Harger); and hydrobiids,Littoridinops palustris Thompson, were their most important prey. Killifish diets differed both quantitatively and qualitatively relative to the habitat in which they were feeding. Fiddler crabs and polychaetes were consumed more frequently and in greater numbers in the intertidal zone, whereas more amphipods were eaten by killifish feeding in subtidal and low intertidal areas. Gulf killifish consumed a greater volume of food when they had access to the marsh surface than when they were confined to subtidal areas.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Literature Cited

  • Baker-Dittus, A. M. 1978. Foraging patterns of three sympatric killifish.Copeia 1978:383–389.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forman, W. W. 1968a. The ecology of the Cyprinodontidae (Pisces) of Grand Terre Island, Louisiana. M.S. Thesis, Louisiana State Univ., Baton Rouge. 116 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forman, W. W. 1968b. Notes on the ecology of six species of cyprinodontid fishes from Grand Terre, Louisiana.Proceedings Louisiana Academy of Sciences 31:39–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hackney, C. T. andA. A. de la Cruz. 1981. Some notes on the macrofauna of an oligohaline tidal creek in Mississippi.Bulletin of Marine Science 31:658–661.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harrington, R. W., Jr. andE. S. Harrington. 1961. Food selection among fishes invading a high subtropical salt marsh: From onset of flooding through the progress of a mosquito brood.Ecology 42:646–666.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hellawell, J. M. andR. Abel. 1971. A rapid volumetric method for the analysis of the food of fishes.Journal of Fish Biology 3:29–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kilby, J. D. 1955. The fishes of two Gulf coastal marsh areas of Florida.Tulane Studies in Zoology 2:175–247.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kleypas, J. andJ. M. Dean. 1983. Migration and feeding of the predatory fish,Bairdiella chrysura Lacepede, in an intertidal creek.Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 72:199–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kneib, R. T. 1982. Habitat preference, predation, and the intertidal distribution of gammaridean amphipods in a North Carolina salt marsh.Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 59:219–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kneib, R. T. 1988. Testing for indirect effects of predation in an intertidal soft-bottom community.Ecology 69:1795–1805.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kneib, R. T. andA. E. Stiven. 1982. Benthic invertebrate responses to size and density manipulations of the common mummichog,Fundulus heteroclitus, in an intertidal marsh.Ecology 63:1518–1532.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lipcius, R. N. andC. B. Subrahmanyam. 1986. Temporal factors influencing killifish abundance and recruitment in Gulf of Mexico salt marshes.Estuarine Coastal Shelf Science 22:101–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, J. M. andM. L. Dunn. 1980. Feeding strategies and patterns of movement in juvenile estuarine fishes, p. 437–448.In V. S. Kennedy (ed.), Estuarine Perspectives. Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Odum, W. E. andE. J. Heald. 1972. Trophic analyses of an estuarine mangrove community.Bulletin of Marine Science 22:671–738.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perschbacher, P. W. andK. Strawn. 1986. Feeding selectivity and standing stocks ofFundulus grandis in an artificial brackishwater pond, with comments onCyprinodon variegatus.Contributions in Marine Science 29:103–111.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rozas, L. P., C. C. McIvor, andW. E. Odum. 1988. Intertidal rivulets and creekbanks: Corridors between tidal creeks and marshes.Marine Ecology Progress Series 47:303–307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ruebsamen, R. N. 1972. Some ecological aspects of the fish fauna of a Louisiana intertidal pond system. M.S. Thesis, Louisiana State Univ., Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 80 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryer, C. H. 1987. Temporal patterns of feeding by blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) in a tidal-marsh creek and adjacent seagrass meadow in the lower Chesapeake Bay.Estuaries 10:136–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • SASInstitute, Inc. 1987. SAS User’s Guide for Personal Computers: Statistics, 6 Ed. Cary, North Carolina. 956 p.

  • Simpson, D. G. andG. Gunter. 1956. Notes on habitats, systematic characters and life histories of Texas salt water cyprinodontes.Tulane Studies in Zoology 4:115–134.

    Google Scholar 

  • Subrahmanyam, C. B. andS. H. Drake. 1975. Studies on the animal communities in two north Florida salt marshes: Part I. Fish communities.Bulletin of Marine Science 25:445–465.

    Google Scholar 

  • Talbot, C. W. andK. W. Able. 1984. Composition and distribution of larval fishes in New Jersey high marshes.Estuaries 7:434–443.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • United States Department of Commerce. 1987. Tide Tables 1988. High and low water predictions/east-coast of North and South America, including Greenland. NOAA, National Ocean Survey, Rockville, Maryland. 289 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vince, S., I. Valiela, N. Backus, andJ. M. Teal. 1976. Predation by the salt marsh killifishFundulus heteroclitus L. in relation to prey size and habitat structure: Consequences for prey distribution and abundance.Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 23:255–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weisberg, S. B., R. Whalen, andV. A. Lotrich. 1981. Tidal and diurnal influence on food consumption of a salt marsh killifishFundulus heteroclitus.Marine Biology 61:243–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weisberg, S. B. andV. A. Lotrich 1982a. The importance of an infrequently flooded intertidal marsh surface as an energy source for the mummichogFundulus heteroclitus: An experimental approach.Marine Biology 66:307–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weisberg, S. B. andV. A. Lotrich. 1982b. Ingestion, egestion, excretion, growth, and conversion efficiency for the mummichog,Fundulus heteroclitus (L.).Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 62:237–249.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Research and Education Center, Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, 70344, Chauvin, Louisiana

    Lawrence P. Rozas

  2. Waterways Experiment Station, U.S. Army Engineers, 3909 Halls Ferry Road, 39180, Vicksburg, Mississippi

    Mark W. LaSalle

Authors
  1. Lawrence P. Rozas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mark W. LaSalle
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Rozas, L.P., LaSalle, M.W. A comparison of the diets of Gulf killifish,Fundulus grandis Baird and Girard, entering and leaving a Mississippi brackish marsh. Estuaries 13, 332–336 (1990). https://doi.org/10.2307/1351924

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1351924

Keywords

  • Tidal Creek
  • Flood Tide
  • Marsh Surface
  • Fiddler Crab
  • Experimental Marine Biology