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Food partitioning among carnivores within feeding guild structure of fishes inhabiting a mudflat ecosystem of Indian Sundarbans

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Abstract

The present study was aimed to determine dietary composition and feeding guild structure of the fishes inhabiting mudflat habitat of Indian Sundarbans. In addition, partitioning of food resources by the fish species belonging to the carnivorous feeding guild was also performed to understand the survival strategies of fish in a mudflat estuarine habitat. Seventeen prey categories were isolated from the stomachs of 31 studied fish species. Overall, five feeding guilds (viz. plankti-benthivore: 12 species, herbivore: one species, detritivore: three species, omnivore: one species and carnivore: 14 species) were identified on the basis of the prey abundance within their stomachs, considering 64 % Bray–Curtis similarity. Among the carnivorous, maximum trophic richness was obtained for Uroconger lepturus followed by Ophichthus apicalis. Teleost and decapods were the main animal prey items preferred by majority of the carnivorous fishes. However, O. apicalis and Terapon jarbua showed their preference toward maximum number of prey categories among carnivores, which was also ratified by the high values for standardized niche breadth presented by them. The maximum degree of interspecific dietary overlap was found between Uropterygius marmoratus and Pseudapocryptes elongatus as both of them were recognized as cranci-piscivore. The lowest was observed between Hyporhamphus limbatus and Coilia neglecta. As food resources are not limiting in the mudflats of Indian Sundarbans, the general patterns of resource partitioning and niche differentiation in resident ecological communities will improve the understanding of the mechanisms underlying species coexistence and community structure.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to the Head of the Department of Zoology, University of Calcutta for the facilities provided. Financial support from the University Grant Commission Research Fellowships in Science for Meritorious Students (U.G.C. RFSMS) project is thankfully acknowledged.

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  1. Aquatic Bioresource Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Calcutta, 35 Ballygunge Circular Road, Kolkata, 700019, West Bengal, India

    Atreyee Chaudhuri, Sudeshna Mukherjee & Sumit Homechaudhuri

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  1. Atreyee Chaudhuri
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Correspondence to Sumit Homechaudhuri.

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Chaudhuri, A., Mukherjee, S. & Homechaudhuri, S. Food partitioning among carnivores within feeding guild structure of fishes inhabiting a mudflat ecosystem of Indian Sundarbans. Aquat Ecol 48, 35–51 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-013-9464-x

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