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Diet composition and food habits of Diplodus puntazzo (Sparidae) from the Gulf of Gabès (Central Mediterranean)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 August 2013

Houda Chaouch ,
Olfa Ben Abdallah-Ben Hadj Hamida ,
Mohamed Ghorbel  and
Othman Jarboui
Houda Chaouch*
Affiliation:
Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer (INSTM), PO Box 1035–3018 Sfax, Tunisia
Olfa Ben Abdallah-Ben Hadj Hamida
Affiliation:
Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer (INSTM), PO Box 1035–3018 Sfax, Tunisia
Mohamed Ghorbel
Affiliation:
Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer (INSTM), PO Box 1035–3018 Sfax, Tunisia
Othman Jarboui
Affiliation:
Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer (INSTM), PO Box 1035–3018 Sfax, Tunisia
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: H. Chaouch, Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer (INSTM), PO Box 1035–3018 Sfax, Tunisia email: houdachaouch@yahoo.fr
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Abstract

The diet and feeding habits of the sharpsnout seabream, Diplodus puntazzo, from the Gulf of Gabès were investigated using stomach contents of 490 specimens ranging from 12.6 cm to 26.1 cm total length in size and from 29.95 g to 230.83 g in weight collected from commercial catches between April 2008 and March 2009. Of the total number of examined stomachs, 279 were empty (%VI = 56.94). This percentage varied significantly with months, attaining a maximum in spring (74.88%) and a minimum in autumn (37.38%). Eight major taxa were identified (Plantae, Spongia, Tunicata, Echinodermata, Crustacea, Annelida, Mollusca and Teleostei) in stomach contents of D. puntazzo. Plants were the most important food source, constituting 89.88% of the total Index of relative importance. The other groups, such as teleosts, molluscs, crustaceans and annelids represented accessory food. Significant differences in diet were observed in relation to season. Plants were the most important food source item in all seasons, especially during the autumn. The estimation of trophic level gave an average of 2.57 ± 0.2 for the whole population of D. puntazzo in the Gulf of Gabès. Based on the composition of its diet, this species may be considered as an omnivorous fish with a preference for vegetable material, and showing specialist feeding strategy.

Keywords

feeding habitsDiplodus puntazzoGulf of GabèsCentral Mediterranean
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 93 , Issue 8 , December 2013 , pp. 2257 - 2264
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2013 

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