Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Feeding habits of Japanese butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae)

  • Chapter
The butterflyfishes: success on the coral reef

Part of the book series: Developments in environmental biology of fishes ((DEBF,volume 9))

Synopsis

Stomach content data from 32 species of Japanese butterflyfishes of the family Chaetodontidae were used to classify them into feeding groups and to determine their important food resources. Four major feeding groups were distinguished: (1) obligative coral feeders which prey exclusively or mostly on scleractinian corals, (2) facultative coral feeders that take both corals and other benthic organisms, (3) noncoralline invertebrate feeders which consume benthic invertebrates other than corals, and (4) zooplankton feeders. Ten species representing 31% of the butterflyfishes belong to the first category. The second and third categories include 13 (41%) and 8 (25%) species, respectively. The fourth category is represented by only one species which picks individual zooplankters, especially calanoid copepods, in midwater above the reefs. Facultative coral feeders consumed varying quantities of scleractinians (from 2 to 74% of food volume), along with a variety of benthic organisms including algae, alcyonarians, sea anemones, sedentary polychaetes, sponges, hydroids, etc. Noncoralline invertebrate feeders, on the other hand, tend to have low diversified diets, predominated by one prey item such as sea anemones, zoanthideans, polychaetes, or colonial ascidians. These dietary data suggest that scleractinian corals are the most important food resource for the Japanese butterflyfishes, and next important are sea anemones, sedentary polychaetes, alcyonarians, and algae.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References cited

  • Allen, G.R. 1980. Butterfly and angelfishes of the world. Vol. 2. Wiley-Interscience, New York. 352 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, G.R.V., A.H. Ehrlich, P.R. Ehrlich, J.D. Roughgarden, B.C. Russell & F.H. Talbot. 1981. The community structure of coral reef fishes. Amer. Nat. 117: 476–495.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bell, J., M. Harmelin-Vivien & R. Galzin. 1985. Large scale spatial variation in abundance of butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae) on Polynesian reefs. Proc. Fifth Internat. Coral Reef Congr. 5: 421–426.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berg, J. 1979. Discussion of methods of investigating the food of fishes, with reference to a preliminary study of the prey of Gobiusculus flavescens (Gobiidae). Mar. Biol. 50: 263–273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Birkeland, C. & S. Neudecker. 1981. Foraging behavior of two Caribbean chaetodontids: Chaetodon capistratus and C. aculeatus. Copeia 1981: 169–178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bouchon-Navaro, Y. 1986. Partitioning of food and space resources by chaetodontid fishes on coral reefs. J.Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 103: 21–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burgess, W.E. 1978. Butterflyfishes of the world. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City. 832 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cox, E.F. 1986. The effects of a selective corallivore on growth rates and competition for space between two species of Hawaiian corals. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 101: 161–174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doherty, P.J. 1983. Tropical territorial damselfishes: is density limited by aggression or recruitment? Ecology 64: 176–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ebersole, J.P. 1985. Niche separation of two damselfish species by aggression and differential microhabitat utilization. Ecology 66:14–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gladfelter, W.B. & W.S. Johnson. 1983. Feeding niche separation in a guild of tropical reef fishes (Holocentridae). Ecology 64: 552–563.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gore, M.A. 1984. Factors affecting the feeding behavior of a coral reef fish, Chaetodon capistratus. Bull. Mar. Sci. 35: 211–220.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gosline, W.A. & V.E. Brock. 1960. Handbook of Hawaiian fishes. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu. 372 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grigg, R.W. 1983. Community structure, succession and development of coral reefs in Hawaii. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 11: 1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grigg, R.W., J.W. Wells & C. Wallace. 1981. Acropora in Hawaii, Part 1. History of the scientific record, systematics, and ecology. Pacif. Sci. 35: 1–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harmelin-Vivien, M.L. & Y Bouchon-Navaro. 1981. Trophic relationships among chaetodontid fishes in the Gulf of Aqaba (Red Sea). Proc. Fourth Internat. Coral Reef Symp. 2: 537–544.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harmelin-Vivien, M.L. & Y. Bouchon-Navaro. 1983. Feeding diets and significance of coral feeding among chaetodontid fishes in Moorea (French Polynesia). Coral Reefs 2: 119–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hiatt, R.W. & D.W. Strasburg. 1960. Ecological relationships of the fish fauna on coral reefs of the Marshall Islands. Ecol. Monogr. 30: 65–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobson, E.S. 1968. Predatory behavior of some shore fishes in the Gulf of California. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv., Res. Rep. 73: 1–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hobson, E.S. 1974. Feeding relationships of teleostean fishes on coral reefs in Kona, Hawaii. U.S. Fish. Bull. 72: 915–1031.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hourigan, T.F. & E.S. Reese. 1987. Mid-ocean isolation and the evolution of Hawaiian reef fishes. Trend. Ecol. Evol. 2: 187–191.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kotrschal, K. & D.A. Thomson. 1986. Feeding patterns in eastern tropical Pacific blennioid fishes (Teleostei: Tripterygiidae, Labrisomidae, Chaenopsidae, Blenniidae). Oecologia (Bed.) 70: 367–378.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kung, S.-S. & L.S. Ciereszko. 1985. Occurrence of the wax cetyl palmitate in stomachs of the corallivorous butterflyfish Chaetodon trifascialis. Coral Reefs 4: 45–46.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kuwamura, T, R. Fukao, T. Nakabo, M. Nishida, T Yanagisawa & Y. Yanagisawa. 1983. Inshore fishes of the Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands, Japan. Galaxea 2: 83–94.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lasker, H.R. 1985. Prey preferences and browsing pressure of the butterflyfish Chaetodon capistratus on Caribbean gorgonians. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 21: 213–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Masuda, H., K. Amaoka, C. Araga, T. Uyeno & T Yoshino (ed.). 1984. The fishes of the Japanese Archipelago. Tokai University Press, Tokyo. 437 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Motta, P.J. 1982. Functional morphology of the head of the inertial suction feeding butterflyfish, Chaetodon miliaris (Perciformes, Chaetodontidae). J. Morphol. 174: 283–312.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Motta, P.J. 1985. Functional morphology of the head of Hawaiian and Mid-Pacific butterflyfishes (Perciformes, Chaetodontidae). Env. Biol. Fish. 13: 253–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Motta, P.J. 1987. A quantitative analysis of ferric iron in butterflyfish teeth (Chaetodontidae, Perciformes) and the relationship to feeding ecology. Can. J. Zool. 65: 106–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Motta, P.J. 1988. Functional morphology of the feeding apparatus of ten species of Pacific butterflyfishes (Perciformes, Chaetodontidae): an ecomorphological approach. Env. Biol. Fish. 22: 39–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neudecker, S. 1977. Transplant experiments to test the effect of fish grazing on coral distribution. Proc. Third Internat. Coral Reef Symp. 1: 317–323.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neudecker, S. 1979. Effects of grazing and browsing fishes on the zonation of corals in Guam. Ecology 60: 666–672.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neudecker, S. 1985. Foraging patterns of chaetodontid and pomacanthid fishes at St. Croix (U.S. Virgin Islands). Proc. Fifth Internat. Coral Reef Congr. 5: 415–420.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ralston, S.V.D. 1981. Aspects of the reproductive biology and feeding ecology of Chaetodon miliaris, a Hawaiian endemic butterflyfish. Env. Biol. Fish. 6: 167–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Randall, J.E. 1967. Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Ocean. 5: 665–847.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reese, E.S. 1975. A comparative field study of the social behavior and related ecology of reef fishes of the family Chaetodontidae. Z. Tierpsychol. 37: 37–61.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reese, E.S. 1977. Coevolution of corals and coral feeding fishes of the family Chaetodontidae. Proc. Third Internat. Coral Reef Symp. 1: 267–274.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reese, E.S. 1981. Predation on corals by fishes of the family Chaetodontidae: implications for conservation and management of coral reef ecosystems. Bull. Mar. Sci. 31: 594–604.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robertson, D.R. 1982. Fish feces as fish food on a Pacific coral reef. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 7: 253–265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sale, P.F. 1980. The ecology of fishes on coral reefs. Ocean. Mar. Biol. Ann. Rev. 18: 367–421.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sano, M., M. Shimizu & Y. Nose. 1984a. Changes in structure of coral reef fish communities by destruction of hermatypic corals: observational and experimental views. Pacif. Sci. 38: 51–79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sano, M., M. Shimizu & Y Nose. 1984b. Food habits of teleostean reef fishes in Okinawa Island, southern Japan. Univ. Mus., Univ. Tokyo Bull. 25: 1–128.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sano, M., M. Shimizu & Y. Nose. 1987. Long-term effects of destruction of hermatypic corals by Acanthaster planci infestation on reef fish communities at Iriomote Island, Japan. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 37: 191–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shannon, C.E. & W.Weaver. 1949. The mathematical theory of communication. University of Illinois Press, Urbana. 117 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steene, R.C. 1978. Butterfly and angelfishes of the world, Vol. 1. Wiley-Interscience, New York. 144 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Talbot, F.H. 1965. A description of the coral structure of Tutia Reef (Tanganyika Territory, East Africa), and its fish fauna. Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 145: 431–470.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tamura, T, T Habe, F. Uchinomi, T. Tokioka, S. Fuse, C. Araga, S. Nishimura, H. Tanase, K. Tatsuki & T Yamamoto. 1966. Marine parks in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. Sci. Rep. Nat. Conser. Soc. Japan 27: 1–126. (In Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Tribble, G.W. & R.H. Randall. 1986. A description of the high-latitude shallow water coral communities of Miyake-jima, Japan. Coral Reefs 4: 151–159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tricas, T.C. 1985. The economics of foraging in coral-feeding butterflyfishes of Hawaii. Proc. Fifth Internat. Coral Reef Congr. 5: 409–414.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, D.McB. 1980. Dynamics of the pomacentrid community on small patch reefs in One Tree Lagoon (Great Barrier Reef). Bull. Mar. Sci. 30: 159–170.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yoshino, T & S. Nishijima. 1981. A list of fishes found around Sesoko Island, Okinawa. Sesoko Mar. Sci. Lab. Tech. Rep. 8: 19–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yoshino, T, S. Nishijima & S. Shinohara. 1975. Catalogue of fishes of the Ryukyu Islands. Bull. Sci. Engin. Div., Univ. Ryukyus, Mathem. Nat. Sci. 20: 61–118. (In Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Zama, A. & K. Fujita. 1977. An annotated list of fishes from the Ogasawara Islands. J. Tokyo Univ. Fish. 63: 87–138. (In Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tokyo, Yayoi 1-1-1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113, Japan

    Mitsuhiko Sano

Authors
  1. Mitsuhiko Sano
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Philip J. Motta

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1989 Kluwer Academic Publishers

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Sano, M. (1989). Feeding habits of Japanese butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae). In: Motta, P.J. (eds) The butterflyfishes: success on the coral reef. Developments in environmental biology of fishes, vol 9. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2325-6_15

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2325-6_15

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-7545-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-2325-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation