Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T00:56:32.411Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Diet composition of carnivorous fishes from coral reef lagoonsof New Caledonia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 November 2005

Michel Kulbicki ,
Yves-Marie Bozec ,
Pierre Labrosse ,
Yves Letourneur ,
Gérard Mou-Tham  and
Laurent Wantiez
Michel Kulbicki
Affiliation:
UR-CoRéUs, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Université de Perpignan, 66860 Perpignan Cedex, France
Yves-Marie Bozec
Affiliation:
UR-CoRéUs, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Université de Perpignan, 66860 Perpignan Cedex, France Département Halieutique UPR Mesh, Agrocampus Rennes, 65 rue de St-Brieuc, CS 84215, 35042 Rennes Cedex, France
Pierre Labrosse
Affiliation:
Université de la Méditerranée, Centre d'Océanologie de Marseille, Campus de Luminy, Case 901, 13288 Marseille Cedex 09, France
Yves Letourneur
Affiliation:
Université de la Méditerranée, Centre d'Océanologie de Marseille, Campus de Luminy, Case 901, 13288 Marseille Cedex 09, France
Gérard Mou-Tham
Affiliation:
UR-CoRéUs, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Université de Perpignan, 66860 Perpignan Cedex, France
Laurent Wantiez
Affiliation:
Université de Nouvelle-Calédonie, BP 4477, 98847 Nouméa, New Caledonia
Get access

Abstract

A total of 212 carnivorous coastal fish species from New Caledonia, represented by 7335 individuals, were analysed for their diet. Fifty two prey items were identified and later grouped into broader taxonomic categories refered as “prey types”. For each fish species 6 biological traits were defined: maximum adult size, major biotope, schooling behaviour, home range, nycthemeral behaviour, degree of crypticity. A general linear model was fit to the diet data taking into account these traits, and depth of capture and fish family. This model was applied to the average number of prey types/stomach and to the volume of 5 prey types: nekton, crustaceans, molluscs, echinoderms, worms. A second analysis was performed on the effect of observed size on diet composition, taking into account these traits and taxonomy. This analysis was restricted to species with at least five individuals, representing 113 species from 33 families. More detailed information is given for the three major families, Serranidae, Lutjanidae and Lethrinidae and intra-family variations are illustrated for Lethrinidae. All the factors tested had significant effects on diet, fish size and taxonomy being the two major factors. The five prey types analysed in detail displayed marked differences according to the factors studied. In particular nekton increased in importance with fish size, whereas crustaceans decreased and molluscs presented a dome shaped relationship. Nekton and crustaceans made the bulk of the diet of most species, with molluscs being at times important. Echinoderms and worms were never a major food item and were eaten only by a restricted range of species.

Keywords

Coral reefsFish dietTrophic levelIndian Ocean
Type
Research Article
Information
Aquatic Living Resources , Volume 18 , Issue 3 , July 2005 , pp. 231 - 250
Copyright
© EDP Sciences, IFREMER, IRD, 2005

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abu Khair M.M., Ambak M.A., Zaki Bin Mohamed Said M., Sakiam M., Hayase S., 1990, A study on the feeding habits of fishes in the South-Western portion of the South China Sea. In: Abu Khair M.M, Abdul Rahman R., Ambak M.A. (Eds.) Ekspedisi Matahari '86 Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science. Pertanian University Malaysia, Occasional Publ. 4, 159-172.
Beukers-Stewart, B.D, Jones, G.P., 2004, The influence of prey abundance on the feeding ecology of two piscivorous species of coral reef fish. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 299, 155-184. CrossRef
Blaber, S.J.M., 1980, Fish of the Trinity inlet system of north Queensland with notes on the ecology of the fish faunas of tropical Indo-Pacific estuaries. Aust. J. Mar. Freshw. Res. 31, 137-146. CrossRef
Blaber, S.J.M., D.A. Milton, Rawlinson N.J.F., 1990, Diets of lagoon fishes in the Solomon Islands: predators of tuna baitfish and trophic effects of baitfishing on the subsistence fishery. Fish. Res. 8, 263-286. CrossRef
Bozec, Y.M., Kulbicki, M., Chassot, E., Gascuel, D., 2005, Trophic signature of coral reef fish assemblages: Towards a potential indicator of ecosystem disturbance. Aquat. Living Resour. 18, 103-109. CrossRef
Cardinale, M., 2000, Ontogenetic diet shifts of bull-rout, Myoxocephalus scorpius (L.), in the south-western Baltic Sea. J. Appl. Ichthyol. 16, 231-239. CrossRef
Carpenter, R.C., 1988, Mass mortality of a Caribbean sea urchin: Immediate effects on community metabolism and other herbivores Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85, 511–514. CrossRef
Carpenter K.E., Niem V.H., 2000, FAO species identification guide for fisheries purposes. the living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Rome, 1-6.
Choat, J.H., Clements, K.D., 1998, Vertebrate herbivores in marine and terrestrial environments: a nutrinional ecology perspective. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 29, 375-403. CrossRef
Choat, J.H, Robbins, D., Clements, K.D., 2004, The trophic status of herbivorous fishes on coral reefs. Mar. Biol. 145, 445-454. CrossRef
Clavier, J., Garrigue, C., 1993, Étude du benthos de l'atoll d'Ouvéa. In: Évaluation des ressources en poissons du lagon d'Ouvéa : 1ère partie – l'environnement biologique, le macrobenthos, le megabenthos et le plancton. Rapp. Conv. Sci. Mer ORSTOM Nouméa 8, 1-36.
Clavier J., Garrigue C., Bargibant G., Di Matteo A., Hamel P., Kulbicki M., Urbain R., 1992, Étude quantitative du benthos dans le lagon d'Ouvéa. Liste taxonomique, densité et biomasses du macrobenthos, ATP, pigments photosynthétiques et matière organique dans le sédiment. Rapp. Scient. Techn. Sci. Mer Biologie marine ORSTOM Nouméa, 64.
Cury P., Shannon L., Shin Y.-J., 2002, The functioning of marine ecosystems: a fisheries perspective. In: Sinclair M., Valdimarsson G. (Eds.) Responsible Fisheries in the Marine Ecosystem, CAB International, pp. 103-123.
Domenci, P., Blake, R.W., 1997, Review: the kinetics and performance of fish fast-start swimming. J. Exp. Biol. 200, 1165-1178.
Egretaud C., 1992, Étude de la biologie générale et plus particulièrement du régime alimentaire de Lethrinus nebulosus du lagon d'Ouvéa. DAA, ENSA Rennes Halieutique.
Floeter S.R., Behrens M.D., Ferreira C.E., Paddack M.J., Horn M.H. in press Geographical gradients of marine herbivorous fishes: patterns and processes. Mar. Biol.
Friedlander, A.M., Parrish, J.D., 1998, Habitat characteristics affecting fish assemblages on a Hawaiian coral reef. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 224, 1-30. CrossRef
Froese R., Pauly D., 2000, Fishbase 2000, Concepts, design and data sources. ICLARM, Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines.
Gascuel, D., Bozec, Y.-M., Chassot, E., Colomb, A., Laurans, M., 2005, The trophic spectrum: theory and application as an ecosystem indicator. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 62, 443-452. CrossRef
Hanson, J.M., Chouinard, G.A., 2002, Diet of Atlantic cod in the southern Gulf of St Lawrence as an index of ecosystem change, 1959-2000. J. Fish Biol. 60, 902-992.
Harmelin-Vivien M.L., 1979, Ichtyofaune des récifs coralliens de Tuléar (Madagascar) : Écologie et relations trophiques. Ph.D. Thesis University Aix-Marseille II.
Harmelin-Vivien, M.L., 1981, Trophic relationships of reef fishes in Tuléar (Madagascar). Oceanol. Acta 4, 365-374.
Harmelin-Vivien M.L., 1989, Reef fish community structure: an Indo-Pacific comparison. In: Harmelin-Vivien M.L., Bourlière F. (Eds.), Ecological studies. Vertebrates in complex tropical systems, New York, Springer Verlag, 69, 21-60.
Harmelin-Vivien, M., Kaim-Malka, R.A., Ledoyer, M., Jacob-Abraham, S.S., 1989, Food partinioning among Scorpaenid fishes in Mediterranean seagrass beds. J. Fish Biol. 34, 715-734. CrossRef
Hay, M.E., Taylor, P.R., 1985, Competition between herbivorous fishes and urchins on Caribbean reefs. Oecologia 65, 591-598. CrossRef
Hemelrijk, C., Hanspeter, K., 2005, Density distribution and size sorting in fish schools: an individual based model. Behav. Ecol. 16, 178-187. CrossRef
Hiatt, R.W., Strasburg, D.W., 1960, Ecological relationships of the fish fauna on coral reefs of the Marshall islands. Ecol. Monogr. 30, 65-127. CrossRef
Hixon M.A., 1991, Predation as a process structuring coral reef fish communities. In: Sale P.F. (Ed.) The Ecology of Fishes on Coral Reefs. New York, Academic Press, pp. 475-507.
Hobson, E.S., 1974, Feeding relationships of teleostean fishes on coral reefs in Kona, Hawaii. Fish. Bull. 72, 915-1031.
Hughes, T.P., 1994, Catastrophes, phase shifts, and large scale-degradation of a Caribbean coral reef. Science 265, 1547-1551. CrossRef
Jennings, S., Pinnegar, J.K., Polunin, N.V.C., Boon, T.W., 2001, Weak cross-species relationships between body size and trophic level belie powerful size-based trophic structuring in fish communities. J. Anim. Ecol. 70, 934-944. CrossRef
Jones G.P., Ferrell D.J., Sale P.F., 1991, Fish predation and its impact on the invertebrates of coral reefs and adjacent sediments. In: Sale P. (Ed.) The ecology of fishes on coral reefs. Academic Press, 156-179.
Kingsford, M.J., 1992, Spatial and temporal variation in predation on reef fishes by coral trout (Plectropomus leopardus, Serranidae). Coral Reefs 11, 193-198. CrossRef
Krause, J., Ruxton, G.D., Rubenstein, D., 1998, Is there always an influence of shoal size on predator hunting success? J. Fish Biol. 52, 494-501. CrossRef
Kulbicki M., 1990, Comparisons between rotenone poisoning and visual counts for density and biomass estimates of coral reef fish populations. Proc. Congr. 1990 Int. Soc. Reef Studies, Noumea 14-18 Nov. 1990, 105-112.
Kulbicki, M., 1991, Present knowledge of the structure of coral reef fish assemblages in the Pacific in Coastal resources and systems of the Pacific basin: investigation and steps toward a protective management – UNEP Regional Seas Rep. Stud. 147, 31-53.
Kulbicki M., 1997, Bilan de 10 ans de recherche (1985-1995) par l'ORSTOM sur la structure des communautés des poissons lagonaires et récifaux en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Cybium 21 Suppl., 47-79.
Kulbicki M., Labrosse P., Ferraris J., 2004, Basic principles underlying research projects on the links between the ecology and the uses of coral reef fishes in the Pacific. In: Visser L.E. (Ed.) Challenging Coasts. Transdisciplinary Excursions into integrated coastal zone development. Amsterdam, Amsterdam University Press, pp. 119-158.
Laurans, M., Gascuel, D., Chassot, E., Thiam, D., 2004, Changes in the trophic structure of fish demersal communities in West Africa in the three last decades. Aquat. Living Resour. 17, 163–173. CrossRef
Lundvall, D., Svanbäck, R., Persson, L., Byström, P., 1999, Size-dependent predation in piscivores: interactions between predator foraging and prey avoidance abilities. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 56, 1285-1292. CrossRef
Letourneur, Y., Kulbicki, M., Labrosse, P., 2000, Fish stock assessment of the northern New Caledonian lagoons: 1 – Structure and stocks of coral reef fish communities. Aquat. Living Resour. 13, 65-76. CrossRef
Letourneur Y., Kulbicki M., Galzin R., Harmelin-Vivien M., 1997, Comparaison des poissons marins de trois îles océaniques tropicales de l'Indo-Pacifique (Réunion, Nouvelle Calédonie, Mooréa). Cybium 21 Suppl., 129-145.
McClanahan, T.R., 1994, Kenyan coral reef lagoon fish effects of fishing, substrate complexity, and sea-urchins. Coral Reefs 13, 231-241. CrossRef
McClanahan, T.R., 1999, Predation and the control of the sea urchin Echinometra viridis and fleshy algae in the patch reefs of Glover Reef, Belize. Ecosystems 2, 511-523. CrossRef
McCormick, M.I., 1998, Ontogeny of diet shifts by a microcarnivorous fish, Cheilodactylus spectabilis, relationship between feeding mechanisms, microhabitat selection and growth. Mar. Biol. 132, 9-20. CrossRef
Mitchell R., 2004, Large scale influence of fishing, fish and habitat on sea urchin abundance on Fijian reefs. Ph.D. Thesis University of Newcastle upon Tyne (GB).
Muller K.E., Fetterman B.A., 2003 Regression and ANOVA: An Integrated Approach Using SAS Software ISBN: 0-471-46943-2, Wiley.
Nakamura, Y., Horimonchi, M., Nakai, T., Sano, M., 2003, Food habits of fishes in a seagrass bed on a fringing reef at Iriomote Island, Southern Japan. Ichthyol. Res. 50, 15-22. CrossRef
Norris J.E., 1985, Trophic relationships of piscivorous coral reef fishes from the northwestern Hawaiian Is-lands. MSc. Thesis University of Hawaii.
Parrish J.D., 1987, The trophic biology of snappers and groupers. In: Polovina J.J., Ralston S. (Eds.) Chap. 9 – Tropical snappers and groupers: biology and fishery management. Westview Press, Boulder, USA, pp. 405-464.
Parrish, F.A., Boland, R.C., 2004, Habitat and reef-fish assemblages of banks in the Northwestern Hawaiian islands. Mar.Biol. 144, 1065-1073. CrossRef
Parrish, J.D., Callahan, M.W., Norris, J.E., 1985, The trophic relationships that structure reef communities. Proc. 5th Int. Coral Reef Congr. Tahiti 4, 73-78.
Pauly, D., Christensen, V., Dalsgaard, J., Froese, R., 1998, Fishing down marine food webs. Science 279, 860-863. CrossRef
Pauly, D., Palomares, M.L., Froese, R., Sa-a, P., Vakily, M., 2001, Fishing down Canadian aquatic food webs. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 58, 51-62. CrossRef
Piet, G.J., 1998, Ecomorphology of a size structured tropical freshwater fish community. Environ. Biol. Fish 51, 67-86. CrossRef
Pinnegar, J.K., Jennings, S., O'Brien, C.M., Polunin, N.V.C., 2002, Long-term changes in the trophic level of the Celtic Sea fish community and fish market price. J. Appl. Ecol. 39, 377–390. CrossRef
Pinto, L., 1987, Environmental factors influencing the occurrence of juvenile fish in the mangrove of Pagbilao, Philippines. Hydrobiologia 150, 283-301. CrossRef
Planes, S., Lecaillon, G., 2001, Caging experiment to examine mortality during metamorphosis of coral reef fish larvae. Coral Reef 20, 211-218.
Randall, J.E., 1980, A survey of ciguatera at Enewetak and Bikini, Marshall Islands, with notes on the systema-tics and food habits of ciguatoxic fishes. Fish. Bull. 78, 201-249.
Rossier, O., Kulbicki, M., 2000, A comparison of fish assemblages from two types of algae beds and coral reefs in the South-West lagoon of New Caledonia. Cybium 24, 3-26.
Salini, J.P., Blaber, S.J.M., Brewer, D.T., 1994, Diets of trawled predatory fish of the gulf of Carpentaria, Australia, with particular reference to predation on prawns. Aust. J. Mar. Freshw. Res. 45, 397-411. CrossRef
Sano M., Shimizu M., Nose Y., 1984, Food habits of the teleostean reef fishes in Okinawa Island, southern Japan. Univ. Mus. Univ. Tokyo Bull. 25.
Shpigel, M., Fishelson, L., 1989, Food habits and prey selection of three species of groupers from the genus Cephalopholis (Serranidae: Teleostei). Environ. Biol. Fish. 24, 67-73. CrossRef
Stewart, B.D., Jones, G.P., 2001, Associations between the abundance of piscivorous fishes and their prey on coral reefs: implications for prey fish mortality. Mar. Biol. 138, 383-397. CrossRef
St John, J., 1999, Ontogenic changes in the diet of the coral reef grouper Plectropomus leopardus (Serranidae): patterns in taxa, size and habitat of prey. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 180, 233-246. CrossRef
Stoner, A.W., 2004, Effects of environmental variables on fish feeding ecology: implications for the performance of baited fishing gear and stock assessment. J. Fish Biol. 65, 1445-1471. CrossRef
Stergiou, K.I., Karpouzi, V.S., 2002, Feeding habits and trophic levels of Mediterranean fish. Rev. Fish Biol. Fish. 11, 217-254. CrossRef
Temming, A., Götz, S., Mergardt, N., Ehrich, S., 2004, Predation of whiting and haddock on sandeel: aggregative response, competition and diel periodicity. J. Fish Biol. 64, 1351-1372. CrossRef
Thollot, P., Kulbicki, M., Harmelin-Vivien, M., 1999, La structure trophique des peuplements des poissons de mangrove de Nouvelle Calédonie. C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris 322, 607-619. CrossRef
Walker, M.H., 1978, Food and feeding habits of Lethrinus chrysostomus Richardson (Pisces: Perciformes) and other Lethrinidae on the Great Barrier Reef. Aust. J. Mar. Freshw. Res. 29, 623-630. CrossRef
Wantiez, L., 1994, Réseaux trophiques de l'ichtyofaune des fonds meubles lagonaires de Nouvelle-Calédonie. C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris Sér. III Sci. Vie 317, 347-359.
Ward, J.F., Austin, R.M., Macdonald, D.W., 2000, A simulation model of foraging behaviour and the effect of predation risk. J. Anim. Ecol. 69, 16-30. CrossRef
Wolf, N., 1987, Schooling tendency and foraging benefit in the ocean surgeonfish. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 21, 59-63. CrossRef