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Trophic niches of thirteen damselfishes (Pomacentridae) at the Grand Récif of Toliara, Madagascar

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Abstract

The damselfishes, with more than 340 species, constitute one of the most important families that live in the coral reef environment. Most of our knowledge of reef-fish ecology is based on this family, but their trophic ecology is poorly understood. The aim of the present study was to determine the trophic niches of 13 sympatric species of damselfishes by combining stable isotope (δ15N and δ13C) and stomach content analyses. Isotopic signatures reveal three main groups according to their foraging strategies: pelagic feeders (Abudefduf sexfasciatus, A. sparoides, A. vaigiensis, Chromis ternatensis, C. dimidiata, Dascyllus trimaculatus and Pomacentrus caeruleus), benthic feeders (Chrysiptera unimaculata, Plectroglyphidodon lacrymatus and Amphiprion akallopisos) and an intermediate group (D. aruanus, P. baenschi and P. trilineatus). Stomach contents reveal that planktonic copepods and filamentous algae mainly represent the diets of pelagic feeders and benthic feeders, respectively. The intermediate position of the third group resulted from a partitioning of small planktonic prey, small vagile invertebrates and filamentous algae. In this last feeding group, the presence of a wide range of δ13C values in P. trilineatus suggests a larger trophic niche width, related to diet-switching over time. Some general considerations about the feeding habits of damselfishes reveal that their choice of habitat on the reef and their behavior appear to be good predictors of diet in this group. Benthic (algae and/or small invertebrates) feeders appear to be solitary and defend a small territory on the bottom; zooplankton feeders remain in groups just above the reef, in the water column.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank J. M. Ouin and his Aqua-Lab team, Prosper and the Institut Halieutique et des Sciences Marines of the Toliara University for helping to collect the fishes and for providing hospitality and laboratory facilities. We are grateful to M. Harmelin-Vivien and to P. Dauby for their assistance in stomach content analysis. The comments and suggestions of the Editor Y. Sakai, Prof. R. Galzin and an anonymous reviewer were also very helpful when revising the manuscript. The authors thank P. Smith for her linguistic assistance. E.P. is a Research Associate of the Belgian National Fund for Scientific Research (FRS-FNRS). This work was funded by FRS-FNRS (FRFC contract no. 2.4.583.05). This paper is MARE paper number 141.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Morphologie fonctionnelle et évolutive, Institut de Chimie (B6c), Université de Liège, 4000, Liège, Belgium

    Bruno Frédérich, Grégory Fabri, Pierre Vandewalle & Eric Parmentier

  2. MARE, Laboratoire d’Océanologie, Institut de Chimie (B6c), Université de Liège, 4000, Liège, Belgium

    Gilles Lepoint

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  1. Bruno Frédérich
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  2. Grégory Fabri
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  5. Eric Parmentier
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Correspondence to Bruno Frédérich.

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Frédérich, B., Fabri, G., Lepoint, G. et al. Trophic niches of thirteen damselfishes (Pomacentridae) at the Grand Récif of Toliara, Madagascar. Ichthyol Res 56, 10–17 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-008-0053-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-008-0053-2

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