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Trophic ecology of a coastal fish assemblage in Portuguese waters

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2013

Nuno Castro ,
José Lino Costa ,
Isabel Domingos  and
Maria Manuel Angélico
Nuno Castro*
Affiliation:
Centro de Oceanografia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal INRB/IPIMAR, Instituto de Investigação das Pescas e do Mar, Avenida de Brasília, 1449-006 Lisboa, Portugal
José Lino Costa
Affiliation:
Centro de Oceanografia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal Departamento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Edificío C2, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
Isabel Domingos
Affiliation:
Centro de Oceanografia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal Departamento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Edificío C2, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
Maria Manuel Angélico
Affiliation:
INRB/IPIMAR, Instituto de Investigação das Pescas e do Mar, Avenida de Brasília, 1449-006 Lisboa, Portugal
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: N. Castro, Centro de Oceanografia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal, e-mail: ngcastro@fc.ul.pt
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Abstract

The diets and trophic ecology of the dominant fish species from the marine coastal region of Aveiro (north-western Portugal) caught during a summer survey were studied. Mysids were the most important prey group for the fish assemblage analysed. As a consequence, there was a high dietary overlap between species and a low incidence of piscivory. Nevertheless, a clear segregation of trophic niches was observed, with one group (comprising the species Chelidonichthys cuculus, Callionymus lyra, Dicologlossa cuneata and Pomatoschistus lozanoi) showing a stronger preference for infaunal epibenthic prey, such as polychaetes and amphipods, another group (including Arnoglossus imperialis, Arnoglossus laterna, Chelidonichthys obscurus, Chelidonichthys lucernus, Echiichthys vipera, Pagellus acarne and Trisopterus luscus) preying mostly upon suprabenthic prey, mainly mysids, and a third group (Engraulis encrasicolus and Trachurus trachurus) feeding largely on planktonic prey like copepods. Some species, including A. imperialis, C. lyra, E. vipera, T. trachurus and T. luscus, showed ontogenic diet shifts that may be related to the habitat occupied by different size-classes and/or to their ability to capture prey of different size.

Keywords

fish communitytrophic structureontogenic shiftsniche overlapmysidspiscivory
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 93 , Issue 5 , August 2013 , pp. 1151 - 1161
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2013 

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