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Non-random feeding enhances the contribution of oceanic zooplankton to the diet of the planktivorous coral reef fish Dascyllus flavicaudus

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Abstract

Combining gut content analysis and sampling of ambient zooplankton, we examine departures from random feeding in a planktivorous coral reef fish and explore the effects of apparent non-random feeding behavior on the relative contribution of oceanic versus reef-associated zooplankton to fish diet. The planktivorous damselfish Dascyllus flavicaudus appears to exhibit strong positive electivity for oceanic copepods including Candacia spp. and copepods from the families Oncaeidae and Corycaeidae and consistent negative electivity for cyclopoid copepods (Oithonidae). In total, prey taxa categorized as oceanic in origin contributed 10–76 % of total zooplankton biomass in fish guts. The summed contribution of oceanic prey taxa to fish diet was significantly higher than expected under a model of random feeding based on the availability of oceanic versus reef-associated prey as sampled by zooplankton net tows. The feeding behavior of D. flavicaudus appears to be visibility-selective rather than or in addition to size-selective, as electivity across prey taxa could not be explained by differences in prey size alone.

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Acknowledgments

We thank M. D. Ohman for providing access to ZooScan equipment and for guidance on the design and analysis of the study. We thank A. Stier, L. Bentley, D. Combosch, W. Boudreau, K. Willis, and L. Sala for their contributions to collections, imaging and image analysis. Comments from M. D. Ohman, L. Levin, L. Aluwihare, and I. Abramson improved the manuscript and analyses. This research was supported by awards from the National Science Foundation through the Moorea Coral Reef LTER program and NSF award OCE-0927448 to JJL, a Northeastern University Three Seas Teaching Fellowship to KMH, and an NSF REU fellowship to ELS via the California Current Ecosystem LTER. Fish collection was approved by French Polynesian research permits and the UCSD Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (Protocol # S06369).

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  1. Katharine M. Hanson

    Present address: , Chapel Hill, NC, 27517, USA

  2. Emilie L. Schnarr

    Present address: Center for International Earth Science Information Network, Earth Institute at Columbia University, Palisades, NY, 10964, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA

    Katharine M. Hanson & James J. Leichter

  2. Environmental Systems Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA

    Emilie L. Schnarr

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  1. Katharine M. Hanson
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Correspondence to Katharine M. Hanson.

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Hanson, K.M., Schnarr, E.L. & Leichter, J.J. Non-random feeding enhances the contribution of oceanic zooplankton to the diet of the planktivorous coral reef fish Dascyllus flavicaudus . Mar Biol 163, 77 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-016-2849-3

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