Synopsis
Spatial distribution and feeding habits of the puffer fish,Takifugu niphobles, were studied to understand its mode of resource utilization in an intertidal sand flat at Tomioka in the western coast of Kyushu Island, Japan. The transect survey during high tides showed the presence of young puffers near the shoreline, while adults were mainly found in the offshore area of the sand flat. The gut contents analysis showed that although the young puffers foraged more frequently on organisms dwelling in the inshore area than the adults, both puffers fed mainly on the ghost shrimpCallianassa japonica inhabiting the entire sand flat. There was no apparent difference in the size of consumedC. japonica between the young and adult puffers. However, comparison of size structures of ghost shrimps in the field and in the gut contents showed that the young puffers foraged both from inshore and offshore areas of the sand flat, while the adults foraged mainly in the offshore area. This suggests that young puffers move more frequently over the sand flat with tides than adult ones. This pattern of trophic separation among size classes may reflect environmental features of the intertidal sand flat with large tidal fluctuations.
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Yamahira, K., Kikuchi, T. & Nojima, S. Age specific food utilization and spatial distribution of the puffer,Takifugu niphobles, over an intertidal sand flat. Environ Biol Fish 45, 311–318 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00003100
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00003100