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Feeding habits of the toothed flounder Cyclopsetta querna (Paralichthyidae) of the south-east Gulf of California

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2010

Felipe Amezcua ,
Alfonso Portillo  and
Felipe Amezcua-Linares
Felipe Amezcua*
Affiliation:
Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Joel Montes Camarena s/n, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, 82040, México
Alfonso Portillo
Affiliation:
Facultad de Ciencias del Mar, Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, Paseo Claussen S/N. Mazatlan, Sinaloa, 82000, México
Felipe Amezcua-Linares
Affiliation:
Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior, Ciudad Universitaria, México D.F. 04510, Mexico
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: F. Amezcua, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Joel Montes Camarena s/n, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, 82040, México email: famezcua@ola.icmyl.unam.mx
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Abstract

Feeding habits of the toothed flounder Cyclopsetta querna caught in the south-east Gulf of California were studied. Specimens were collected via demersal fish surveys. Results of this study show that C. querna is a predator that focuses on fish inhabiting the bottom and in particular on tonguefish (Symphurus sp.), midshipman fish (Porichthys sp.) and moray eels (Muraenidae). The diet of the toothed flounder did not vary significantly throughout the period of study, and neither size nor sex-related variations in diet composition were observed. Simpson's index indicates a limited trophic niche breadth with a diet dominated by a limited number of taxa. The estimated TROPH value for C. querna is similar to that estimated for other demersal top predators from the studied area; therefore, the toothed flounder can be considered a top carnivore from the demersal community in the Gulf of California.

Keywords

Cyclopsetta quernafeeding habitstrophic nichemultivariate analysestrophic levelGulf of California
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 91 , Special Issue 6: Fish Ecology , September 2011 , pp. 1225 - 1230
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2010

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