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Feeding ecology of flatfish juveniles (pleuronectiformes) in Mar Chiquita coastal lagoon (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

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Abstract

During a two-year period in Mar Chiquita coastal lagoon (Buenos Aires, Argentina), the diet of juvenileParalichthys orbignyanus andOncopterus darwinii sorted according to size, area, and season was analyzed. Sampling was carried out using a beach seine net in three zones of different salinity. The small size of the individuals collected and the high percentage of full stomachs, corresponding with high food availability in the lagoon, indicated that Mar Chiquita is used as a nursery ground. The diet ofP. orbignyanus consisted of crustaceans and polychaetes, whereasO. darwinii fed predominantly on small crustaceans (gammarid amphipods, harpacticoid copepods, mysids, and ostracods); polychaetes were less important. Diet of both flatfish species varied with length. Smaller individuals were microphagous, while bigger specimens included larger prey in their diet. Prey taxa number increased for both species, seawards to the mouth of the lagoon, probably related to the salinity gradient. Prey diversity forP. orbignyanus was highest in autumn and spring, and the lowest percentage of stomachs with food occurred in winter. Prey diversity was lowest forO. darwinii in spring and the highest percentage of empty stomachs was found in autumn.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departmento de Ciencias Marinas, FCEyN, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Funes 3350, (7600), Mar del Plata, Argentina

    Ariadna Rivera Prisco

  2. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Pesquero (INIDEP), Paseo Victoria Ocampo No 1, 7600, Mar del Plata, Argentina

    Susana B. García De La Rosa

  3. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Departamento de Ciencias Marinas, FCEyN, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Funes 3350, 7600, Mar del Plata, Argentina

    Juan M. Díaz De Astrarloa

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  1. Ariadna Rivera Prisco
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  2. Susana B. García De La Rosa
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  3. Juan M. Díaz De Astrarloa
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Correspondence to Juan M. Díaz De Astrarloa.

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Prisco, A.R., De La Rosa, S.B.G. & Astrarloa, J.M.D.D. Feeding ecology of flatfish juveniles (pleuronectiformes) in Mar Chiquita coastal lagoon (Buenos Aires, Argentina). Estuaries 24, 917–925 (2001). https://doi.org/10.2307/1353182

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